Top 10 Greatest African Sprinters of All Time

In Summary

• Africa has produced world-class sprinters who broke records, won Olympic medals, and inspired global audiences.
• Legends like Wayde van Niekerk, Frankie Fredericks, and Blessing Okagbare dominate the all-time list alongside rising stars like Letsile Tebogo and Christine Mboma.
• From Namibia to Nigeria, South Africa to Kenya, these sprinters have redefined speed and placed Africa firmly on the global sprinting map.

Deep Dive!!

Lagos, Nigeria, Thursday, September 25—The story of running in Africa is dynamic and incredibly varied. Although North American and Caribbean names have frequently dominated the world sprint scene, African racers have set world records, memorable performances, and Olympic moments that revolutionised the sport.

Legends like Haile Gebrselassie and Eliud Kipchoge, who have pushed the boundaries of human endurance, have made Africa a household name in endurance running. However, the continent is creating its own legendary heritage in the fast-paced sport of sprinting, where every tenth of a second matters.

These African sprinters have broken records, placed on Olympic podiums, and motivated a new generation. In this article, we celebrate the top 10 greatest African sprinters of all time, breaking bounds on the global stage.

10. Akani Simbine (South Africa)

Simbine, who was born in 1993, won the African Championship and the Commonwealth gold in 2018 and also finished fifth in the 2017 World Championship. He broke the record for being the first sprinter to run the 100m in under 10 seconds for 11 consecutive years, a record that surpasses Usain Bolt’s 10 seasons.

He is unbeaten in the 100m at the beginning of the 2025 season, and he also earned a bronze medal in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships and a silver medal in the 4x100m relay at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Akani Simbine was the 100-meter record holder with a time of 9.84 seconds set in July 2021 until broken by Ferdinand Omanyala in September 2021.

9. Divine Oduduru (Nigeria)

Divine Oduduru, who was born in 1996, is a five-time African junior champion and has won silver in the 2019 World Championships 200m and African Games medals. At the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Divine Oduduru achieved a sprint double by winning the 100-meter race in 9.86 seconds and the 200-meter race in 19.73 seconds. 

With his 200-meter time of 19.73 seconds, he also set African and Nigerian records, and he currently holds the Nigerian record. Oduduru also raced in the 2016 Rio Olympics, reaching the 200m semifinals, and was a member of the winning 4x100m relay team at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

8. Murielle Ahouré (Côte d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast)

Ivorian-American sprinter Murielle Ahouré was born in 1987, and she has been a formidable force in West Africa. She is the first-ever African woman to win a double medal (100m/200m) at the 2013 World Championships and also set an African indoor 60-meter record of 6.97 seconds.

Ahouré set a personal best of 10.78 seconds for the 100-meter and 22.24 seconds for the 200-meter. She also won two Diamond League Finals and created an African record by winning a gold medal in the 60m at the 2018 World Indoor Championships. Ahouré also holds Ivorian national records in the 100m and 4x100m relay. At 38, she is a coach who embodies the sprint surge of Côte d'Ivoire.

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7. Olusoji Fasuba (Nigeria)

Fasuba was born in 1984, and his masterclass in Doha won gold at the All-Africa Games and silver at the Commonwealth. Olusoji Fasuba was Nigeria's speed sentinel and the first African man to qualify for the World Championship finals with his 9.85-second African 100-meter record (2006–2021).

He was the first and only African to win a gold medal in the World Indoor 60m in 2008. His other achievements include his bronze medal in the 4x100-meter relay at the 2004 Olympic Games and his silver medal in the 100-meter event at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He is recognised as one of Africa's top sprinters and a representation of tenacity and athletic brilliance, even though he retired early due to injuries.

6. Christine Mboma (Namibia)

Christine Mboma was born in 2003, kicking off her sprinting career as a teenager. She made her debut on the international scene at Tokyo 2020, which took place in 2021, where she won the Olympic silver in the 200-meter event and set the world-U20 and African records. She is the first Namibian woman to achieve this feat.

She also holds the African senior 200-meter record and won gold at the 2021 Diamond League 200-meter final and the World U20 Championships. World Athletics' 2023 rules for DSD (Differences of Sex Development) athletes, which call for a decrease in testosterone levels, had a major effect on her career and temporarily prevented her from competing.

5. Ferdinand Omanyala (Kenya)

Omanyala, who was born in Nairobi in 1996, switched from rugby to tracks in 2015. He is Africa's fastest man and the Kenyan national record holder for the 100m, achieving a personal best of 9.77 seconds to become the tenth-fastest man in history. Omanyala is the first African man to finish in less than 9.8 seconds, and he is the reigning 100m champion at the African Championships and Commonwealth Games.

He was banned from doping for 14 months in 2017 but came back strong. His Commonwealth and African Championship 100-meter golds in 2022 capped his 9.77-second African record in 2021 (+1.2 wind). Kenya advancing to the semifinals in 2021 is all thanks to Omanyala, who finished 8th in Tokyo.

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4. Letsile Tebogo (Botswana)

Tebogo was born in Maun in 2003, and at only a young age of 22, he has already written Botswana's sprint history by winning the country's first Olympic gold and sparking a sprint revolution throughout southern Africa. He broke world records for under-20 before attracting attention at the senior level. 

He fulfilled a promise to honour his late mother's memory by defeating Noah Lyles in a photo-finish shock to win the 2024 Olympic 200m in Paris, setting a new African mark of 19.46 seconds. Among his achievements are being the first African to win the 200-meter Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, becoming Botswana's first Olympic medallist and taking home a silver medal in the 4x400-meter relay.

He previously won the World U20 100-meter championship in 2021, became the youngest African 200-meter champion in 2022, and broke the 10-second barrier in the 100-meter event for the first time as a Botswana man. He also holds the world record for the 300m.  

3. Blessing Okagbare (Nigeria)

Okagbare, who was born in Port Harcourt in 1988, is recognised as one of Africa’s most decorated female track athletes. Her emergence was signalled by her 2008 Beijing Olympic silver in the long jump (6.92m), but her sprint skills, a bronze in the 200m (22.05s) at the 2013 World Championships and several Commonwealth golds, were what made headlines.

Blessing Okagbare's sprint accomplishments include gold in the 100m and 200m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she set a Games record in the 100m. She was the previous African record holder for the 100m and currently holds the 200m record (22.04s). Several African Championships, All-Africa Games, and IAAF World Relays gold medals are among the other noteworthy sprint honours. She holds a Guinness World Record for the most appearances in the Diamond League meetings (67).

2. Frankie Fredericks (Namibia)

Fredericks, who was born in Windhoek in 1967, is a pioneer for Namibia’s sprinting,  transforming four Olympic silver medals into a legacy of near-perfection. He became a dual threat in the 100m and 200m, making his debut at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where he won silver in both events, marking Namibia's first-ever medal haul.

He finished in second place again in Atlanta 1996, and even though he settled for silver, he clocked 19.68s in the 200m final, a time that stood as the African record for nearly three decades.

Among Frankie Fredericks' sprint accomplishments are four Olympic silver medals, a gold medal in the 200m at the 1993 World Championship, and an indoor 200m world record. He is regarded as one of the best sprinters Africa has ever produced, holds the 100-meter and 200-meter African records, and has won numerous gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and African Championships.

1. Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa)

Van Niekerk, who was born in Cape Town in 1992, made his debut at the University of South Africa, where his combination of 400-meter endurance and 200-meter flair soon led to comparisons to Michael Johnson and other sporting greats. Wayde van Niekerk is a phenomenon whose 2016 Olympic victory cemented his legacy.

At the Rio Olympics, he broke Johnson's 17-year-old world mark with an incredible performance of 43.03 seconds, which was so dominant that it covered the 100-meter split in less than 9.94 seconds. Van Niekerk supported this with gold medals in the 400m at the World Championships in 2015 and 2017, as well as a silver in the 200m in the latter.

A roundup of his achievements includes being the only sprinter to record sub-10, sub-20, sub-31, and sub-44 times in the 100m, 200m, 300m, and 400m races, respectively. Wayde van Niekerk also holds the record for being the first athlete to run under 10 seconds in the 100m, 20 seconds in the 200m, and 44 seconds in the 400m. He holds the current 400-meter world record and was the 2016 Olympic champion, having set the record in Rio de Janeiro with a time of 43.03 seconds.

In addition, he won a silver medal in the 200m at the 2017 World Championships and holds the world record for the 300m (30.81 seconds).