Ghanaian sprinter Abdul-Rasheed Saminu made a dazzling European debut on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, claiming second place in the men’s 100m at the Gyulai István Memorial in Budapest, Hungary.
The 27-year-old clocked 10.01 seconds, finishing just behind Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who took victory in 9.95 seconds. Saminu outpaced a stellar field that featured African sprint giants Akani Simbine of South Africa and Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya.
The race marked Saminu’s first outing on the European circuit, coming barely two months after wrapping up his collegiate career at the NCAA Championships in the United States. His 2025 season has been nothing short of sensational — breaking the Ghanaian national record twice, first with 9.86 seconds in May, then lowering it to 9.84 seconds seven weeks later, ranking him seventh in the world this year.
In Budapest, he faced an elite lineup that included Thompson, the world’s fastest man this season with a personal best of 9.75 seconds, alongside Africa’s record-holder Omanyala, U.S. veteran Ronnie Baker, Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi, and Jamaican sprinters Ackeem Blake and Rohan Watson.
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🔥🔥10.01s (-0.4m/s)🔥🔥
🇬🇭Abdul-Rasheed Saminu placed 2nd in the 100m dash behind Kishane Thompson 🇯🇲 at the Gyulai István Memorial, Hungary. @rasheed_saminu beat the likes of Akani Simbini 🇿🇦Ackeem Blake🇯🇲, Ronnie Baker 🇺🇸, Omanayla Ferdinand 🇰🇪.
Massive. pic.twitter.com/eYsprZrlJm
— George Addo Jnr (@addojunr) August 12, 2025
