Crowned U20 European champion in 2021 in the 100m, Toby Makoyawo was then considered one of the greatest sprinting talents in the UK. His early university career, marked by supersonic times for his age, only strengthened his status.
Extremely promising beginnings.
His breakthrough came at the 2021 U20 European Championships. He arrived in the Estonian capital with a personal best of 10.37 seconds in the 100m, set just a month and a half earlier. At the championships, he lowered this record to 10.26 in the semifinals and then to 10.25 seconds, the best performance of the year among U20s, to claim the European title ahead of France’s Jeff Erius (10.27) and Italy’s Matteo Melluzzo (10.31). Later in the competition, he also won the 4x100m relay, and his year concluded with the distinction of British Junior Male Athlete of the Year 2021 by the leading publication Athletics Weekly.
In 2021, Toby Makoyawo had already crossed the Atlantic to join Boston University, and from his very first races, he made an impression. On March 25, in Austin, Texas, he took second place in the 100m, lowering his personal best to 10.12 seconds. The following day, in the final, he crossed the line in first place with an impressive time of 9.90 seconds at the age of 19, setting a new university record. While the wind was much too favorable (+4.6 m/s, when the limit is 2.0 m/s), preventing the time from being ratified, it suggested that it was only a matter of time before he broke the 10-second barrier in more suitable conditions. However, injuries soon stopped his progress.
— Travis Miller (@travismillerx13) March 26, 2022
Two much harder consecutive years.
Though no time is ideal for suffering an injury, especially a serious one, having one at 20 years old, at a moment when a major breakthrough in a career seems imminent, is the worst possible timing. A significant quadriceps injury ended his 2022 season early, and upon his return, the worst happened. On December 2, 2023, during a seemingly routine 60m race, he was unable to finish, and the medical diagnosis confirmed an Achilles tendon rupture. He has not raced since. These two consecutive years with limited competition have undoubtedly slowed his progress, but his training efforts show that the injuries are behind him, and 2025 promises a return to normalcy.
A change of university in the meantime.
His long absence from the track unfortunately gave him time to reflect on the best course of action to relaunch his career, and he decided to change universities. He moved from the northeast with Boston to the southeast, joining the Florida Gators in Gainesville. This choice seems ideal, given the university’s impressive results last year. With strong performances across many disciplines, the Florida Gators finished first in the men’s standings with 41 points, second in the women’s with 59 points, and first overall, ahead of the University of Arkansas. The Gators excelled in sprinting, with a fifth-place finish in the 100m, second and ninth places in the 200m, third and seventh in the 400m, and fourth and third in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. With a new Olympic cycle beginning and qualifying times to meet for the 2025 World Athletics Championships (September 13–21 in Tokyo), Toby Makoyawo is also entering a new phase in his career, which remains as promising as ever, given that he is only 22 years old.
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