Emmanuel Eseme wins men’s 100m final at Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow, Commonwealth Games 2026; Games record 9.83s
Commonwealth Games 2026: Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme storms to 100m men’s gold in Games Record time
Commonwealth Games 2026: Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme storms to 100m men’s gold in Games Record time
Scottish “summer” weather conditions were not enough to stop Eseme in his pursuit of a maiden Commonwealth title in track’s quickest event at Scotstoun Stadium.
Emmanuel Eseme topped a stacked field in the men’s 100m athletics final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Tuesday (28 July), powering past Australia’s Lachlan Kennedy and Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi to seal victory in a Games record time of 9.83 seconds.
His time reset the history books, making the race the fastest ever held at the Commonwealth Games . Australia’s Kennedy finished second in a national record of 9.85, followed close behind by Ajayi at 9.90.
South Africa’s Gift Leotlela reached the finish just off the podium in a time of 9.91, making him the fourth, and final, sprinter to go under 10 seconds in the rain-soaked final at Scotstoun Stadium on Tuesday (28 July).
Asked what it meant to him to be Commonwealth champion, Eseme responded, “I worked so hard for this and to be able to reap from all the work I’m doing, I just say thanks to God, thanks to my team, and yeah, I’m very happy right now.”
Hopes were high for a record-breaking final after he clocked a national record time of 9.89 in the semi-finals, with Kennedy clocking a personal best of 9.94.
The Australian sprinter appeared to get the better start in the final, along with Nigeria’s Ajayi, with the two pulling clear of the rest of the field.
But like a rocket bursting through the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere, Eseme reached a terminal velocity no man could challenge. He sped by the leading duo, snatching victory on the finish line.
“After the semi-finals I got the national record, 9.89, and it was a pretty cool race, very chill. I just said to myself, ‘you may not be the best starter. They may let you go in the first 50 metres, but just keep it, don’t rush anything.’
“Somehow at the end, I know I’m going to catch them, because when I get there and they’re seeing around me, I know I’m going to catch them. So I just decided to execute my race without following them.”
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Having broken a national record of his own, Kennedy was in a similarly good mood following the race.
“It felt good. It felt right,” he told reporters in the mixed zone. “It felt like I was where I belonged out there, competing against the world’s best and running good times.
“It’s a privilege to be out there racing against such a good field. That’s what all those hours, all that sweat, all those sessions, and everything you’ve put into it are for,” he explained.
“It’s all so you can compete in front of these incredible crowds, with my family here watching and everyone back home in Australia supporting me.”
Reigning champion Ferdinand Omanyala fared less well in the rainy conditions, failing to advance to the finals. He told Olympics.com that he is “really not good in the rain.”
But as it turns out, Eseme is right in his element.
“You don’t get the opportunity to run on a fast track like this all the time, and when I saw the heats yesterday, I was like, ‘Oh, this is a good one. I better seize this opportunity and make something out of it,’” the Cameroonian sprinter told reporters after the race.
That said, his time was even faster than what he was aiming for before the final – not that he was bothered by that in any way.
“I was always trying to get 9.9 because throughout the season, it’s been like 9.99, 9.99, so always those nines, close to 10.0, so I’m so happy that I was able to take it down.”
Leaving Glasgow as his nation’s first gold medallist in athletics at the Commonwealth Games, he’ll have plenty of fond memories to look back on.
By Matt Nelsen Grace Goulding
23 July - 2 August
Commonwealth Games 2026 | Glasgow | United Kingdom