By Ghazali Ibrahim
A Nigerian-born teenager has made headlines in athletics after breaking the Under-18 world record in the men’s 60 metres hurdles at a major indoor meet in France.
Jared Ejiasian, a 16-year-old hurdler competing at the French U18 & U20 Championships in Val-de-Reuil, clocked 7.43 seconds in the 60m hurdles final on Saturday, February 21, 2026, smashing the previous record of 7.48 seconds that had stood since 2019.
Ejiasian, who races for the AC Nord Val d’Oise club, showed dominating form throughout the race, pulling ahead after the second hurdle and holding his speed to the finish line. His performance immediately drew attention from athletics fans and analysts across Europe.
The previous world Under-18 mark was held by Sasha Zhoya of France, who set the 7.48s standard back in 2019, a time Ejiasian bettered by five hundredths of a second.
Before this breakthrough, Ejiasian had already posted a notable performance earlier in the season, recording 7.57 seconds at the Tempo Run League indoor meet, an effort that set an African U18 record.
Born in Nigeria and raised in France from infancy, Ejiasian competes internationally under the Nigerian flag, though there have been reports he is pursuing French citizenship to represent France in future competitions.
His record-breaking run adds to a growing list of young Nigerian athletes making waves on the global athletics stage, underlining the depth of emerging sprint and hurdles talent connecting the diaspora with Nigeria’s sporting heritage.
