GB’s Azu wins 60m gold, eyes on Nigeria’s Ochonogor to leap into history books

Great Britain’s Jeremiah Azu sprinted to 60m gold in a dramatic photo finish at the World Athletics Indoor Championships to secure the first global title of his career.

Within two weeks of his triumph at the European indoors, the 23-year-old announced himself as a world champion by equalling that personal best performance of 6.49 seconds.

It saw him cross the line one hundredth of a second ahead of Australian Lachlan Kennedy, who was initially shown as the winner on the big screen in Nanjing, China.

World Indoor gold has added a stunning conclusion to a whirlwind month for Azu, who celebrated the birth of his son just one week before claiming his first individual international title on the European stage.

Azu had his hands on his head as his name flashed up in second place, but the Briton was soon sprinting away in ecstatic celebration when his victory was confirmed.

“I knew I could win it. I said at the Europeans I want to take over the world. This is just the start of our journey,” an emotional Azu told BBC Sport.

“The plan is to keep on winning. The sky isn’t the limit – there is way, way more than that. Let’s see what the summer brings – I’m excited for it.”

Meanwhile, Nigerians will be hoping on long jumper, Prestina Ochonogo, to produce a winning leap at the championships. The Paris 2024 long jump finalist is expected to make the best leap of her career as she bids to win a medal in the horizontal jump. Team Nigeria, made up of nine athletes and two officials, was expected to depart for China since on Wednesday.

According to an update from World Athletics sent to The Guardian, Nanjing 2025, which started on Friday, will be an unforgettable championship, as 11 defending champions and 20 Olympic medallists from Paris 2024