ATHLETICS: Alaba Akintola named C-USA Athlete of the Week

It gets better for the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) sophomore student, Alaba Akintola, who has been named the Conference USA (C-USA) Athlete of the Week for his outstanding performances at the Commodore Challenge in the outgoing week.

Akintola ran a time of 6.59s, which broke the 60m School Record (SR) that stood for 20 years, and is also a top 5 time on the 2023 NCAA Top list in the event.

Alaba Akintola is MTSU 60m, 100m and 200m School Record holder AFP

His time also propelled him to thirteenth on the all-time Nigerian list, as well as the second Nigerian to have gone under the 6.60s mark this season and in recent years, as Favour Ashe of Auburn University leads this pace with 6.57s.

The speedster also ran his fastest indoor season opener in the 200m, clocking 21.19s to win the event at the meet. Akintola, currently owns the SR in the 60m, 100m, and 200m (outdoors).

Alaba Akintola won the C-USA 60m and 200m indoor titles last season AFP

Last season, Akintola did a double at the C-USA Indoor Championships by winning the 60m and 200m titles. He repeated the same feat outdoors - this time in the 100m and 200m.

His performances and results position him as the best male sprinter in the C-USA circuit, and his opening performance last week, which he will be aiming to build upon, Akintola won't relinquish the title anytime soon.

He will now look forward to breaking more records at the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee.