At the 2025 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships in Lubbock, Texas, on 1 March, Ezekiel Nathaniel shattered his African record to win the men’s 400m title. His time of 44.74 seconds secured the championship, broke the conference meet record, Baylor indoor programme record, and his own national indoor record, earning him a spot in the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships in Virginia later this month.
Nathaniel, from Delta State, Nigeria, became the first Baylor University athlete to achieve a sub-45 second time in the 400m event. This follows his performance last month, where he ran 44.92 seconds, becoming the first African man to break the 45-second barrier indoors, surpassing Sunday Bada’s 45.51 African record set at the 1997 World Indoor Championships in Paris.
The 21-year-old, who specialises in the 400m hurdles outdoors, solidified his top position in Africa by becoming the only athlete from the continent to run sub-45 seconds in the indoor 400m twice. His time ranks second-fastest globally this year, behind USA’s Christopher Bailey‘s 44.70 seconds in Fayetteville, Arkansas last month.
Ezekiel Nathaniel is one of only three athletes to break the 45-second mark in this event this year, with Jayden Davis clocking 44.95 at the Championships in Lubbock.
In the 4×400 relay, Nathaniel’s final leg of 45.29 seconds propelled his team from fourth place to gold, their first indoor relay title since 2019.
Nathaniel holds the top ranking in both the Big 12 and NCAA, and is second worldwide in the 400m. His performance has positioned him as a strong contender for the 400m gold at the upcoming World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.
JL Van Rensburg, a first-year student from South Africa at Baylors, secured fourth place in the men’s shot put event. The freshman achieved a personal best throw of 19.07 metres (62-6 ½) which bolstered the team’s overall performance.
Elsewhere at the Big 12 Championships, Nigeria’s Success Umukoro (Texas Tech) finished second in the women’s 60m with 7.19 seconds to Indya Mayberry’s 7.18.
Adaobi Tabugo (UCF) secured second place in the women’s 60m hurdles, breaking the eight-second barrier with 7.99 seconds. This places her fifth on the Nigerian all-time list, behind Tobi Amusan (7.75), Glory Alozie (7.82), Josephine Onyia (7.88), and Taiwo Aladefa (7.95).