Nigeria’s Nathaniel Ezekiel has once again rewritten history, smashing his own African indoor 400m record with a stunning 44.74 seconds to win the men’s 400m title at the Big 12 Indoor Championships at the TTU Sports Performance Centre in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday.
Ezekiel’s performance lowers the African and national record of 44.92 seconds, which he set just last month, making him the only African to have broken the 45-second barrier twice in the indoor 400m.
His latest feat also ranks him second in the world this season, behind USA’s Christopher Bailey (44.70s), and eighth on the all-time list.
The 21-year-old Baylor University athlete secured his place at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships, set for later this month in Virginia. His time also strengthens his bid for a spot on Nigeria’s 4x400m relay team at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.
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Ezekiel, who primarily competes in the 400m hurdles outdoors – which he qualified for the semi-final at the Paris 2024 Olympics – made history last month by becoming the first African man to dip under 45 seconds in the indoor 400m, breaking the long-standing 45.51s African record set by Sunday Bada in 1997 at the World Indoor Championships in Paris.
His consistency at the top level has now positioned him as a strong contender for the 400m gold medal in Nanjing, as he remains one of just three men worldwide to have run under 45 seconds this season, alongside Bailey and Jayden Davis (44.95s).
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