Nathaniel Ezekiel has set a new national record of 48.29 seconds to win the men’s 400-meter hurdles at the 2024 Tom Jones Invitational in Florida.
Running his second 400 meters hurdles race of the 2024 season, not only did he break the Nigerian Record of 48.42 seconds he set as a freshman at Baylor University in 2022, he also improved the school record.
His time at the 2024 Tom Jones Invitational secured him automatic qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, dipping very well below the Olympic standard of 48.70 seconds. He now has the fastest two times by a Nigerian in the history of the event.
Nathaniel finished third in his race behind Chris Robinson who ran 47.95 seconds to win and Fremchman Clement Ducos in a Personal Best (PB) of 48.26 seconds.