Few days after he turned 20 years old, Favour Ashe ran the fastest time in history by any Nigerian athlete in all conditions, racing to a staggering 9.79s (+3.0) to win his 100m heat at the LSU invitational meet in Baton Rouge, underlining the huge prospects he embodies.
That time is the fifth fastest time of all conditions in NCAA history.
Ashe’s talent has never been in doubt and his performances since moving to the United States to study is testament to the glimpse of promises he had shown before leaving Nigeria for the University of Tennessee.
Now, he is making himself known in the NCAA and has just barely scratched the surface.
Before travelling to Louisiana to compete last Saturday, Ashe had run one outdoor 100m race this season, narrowly losing to his compatriot, Alaba Akintola who won their match-up in Auburn, posting a Personal Best of 10.09s. Ashe came in 2nd in that race, equally running a PB of 10.10s; and although he felt like he could have much better, it was a pointer to his potential and what he is capable of running.
Earlier this year, he had taken the indoor circuits by storm announcing himself with a very fast 60m PB of 6.58s. That was his first ever-competitive race indoors, moving to 12th in the Nigerian all-time list, only to massively improve at the Indoor National Championships in Birmingham with a new PB of 6.51s and going joint 4th with Davidson Ezinwa in the Nigerian all-time list.