Nigerian Akintola breaks the school Athletics record in the US

Nigeria sprinter and student of middle Tennessee state university Alaba Akintola broke the 20-year 60m school record when he ran a time of 6.59secs at the commodore challenge.

Akintola, a commonwealth games bronze medalist, ran in both the 60m and 200m events to start the season on a bright note at Vanderbilt in the commodore challenge.

He took first place in both events and set a new personal-best time in the 60m. Akintola’s 6.59secs time in the 60m final is also the 13th fastest time in Nigerian history, beating his previous best time of 6.67secs in the 60m, and is also a top 5 time on the 2023 national collegiate athletic association top list in the event.

At the 2022 C-USA indoor Championship, Akintola also set a career-best time in the 200 meters (20.72 seconds), breaking a record that had stood for 17 years and placing first overall.

At the Samford Bulldog Open in 2022, the sprinter won the 60- and 200-meter races, and she is now placed 14th at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships with a time of 21.49 seconds in the 200-meter dash.

The 21-year-old silver medalist from the African Youth Games ran a timing of 20.44 seconds in the men’s 200-meter semi-finals at the NCAA OTF Outdoor Championship and ran 10.25 seconds in the men’s 100-meter semifinals at the NCAA OTF Championships last year.

At the Vanderbilt Invitational Championship, which will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, from January 20 to 21, he hopes to set even more records.