Ezekiel Nathaniel World Championships heartbreak as Nigerian record holder loses bronze after Rai Benjamin’s disqualification was overturned

Nathaniel crossed the line in fourth place in the men’s final, clocking 47.11 seconds to set a new national record. The race was initially won by American Rai Benjamin in 46.52 seconds, ahead of Brazil’s Alson Dos Santos and Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba.

Also read: Ezekiel Nathaniel Sets Record but Misses World Championship Medal

Moments later, controversy erupted when Benjamin was disqualified for hitting the last hurdle in Lane 6, which also displaced Nathaniel’s hurdle.

The ruling briefly promoted Nathaniel into third place, making him Nigeria’s first World Championships medallist in the event.

The reshuffle elevated Dos Santos to gold and Samba to silver, while Nathaniel was announced as the bronze winner. But celebrations were cut short when the United States Track and Field Federation lodged an appeal.

After review, officials reinstated Benjamin as champion, restoring the original order and pushing Nathaniel back to fourth.

Despite the crushing setback, Nathaniel’s performance was historic. He shattered his own national record of 47.31 seconds, set in August, and became only the second Nigerian to reach a World Championships 400m hurdles final since Henry Amike’s fourth-place finish in 1987.

The 2025 season has been a breakthrough one for Nathaniel, featuring an NCAA title, two national records, and consistently world-class times under 48 seconds. His Tokyo display, though bittersweet, underscores his rising stature on the global stage.

Team Nigeria ended the championships with one medal — Tobi Amusan’s — marking a clear improvement on the 2023 Budapest edition, where the country finished empty-handed.