The father of United States of America-based Nigerian speedstar, Udodi Onwuzurike, coach Chris Onwuzurike, has given reason for the athlete’s not too impressive performance in the 2025 Wanda Diamond League Final on Thursday in Zurich, Switzerland.

Udodi, who competed in his first Diamond League final on Thursday, ran 20.54seconds to finish eight in the 200m. He was rewarded with a paycheck of just $1,000, though it could have been $2,000 if his event had been classified as a Diamond+ discipline in Zurich. Overall, he earned $5,000 in his first Diamond League season, made up of the $4,000 he won for placing third in Brussels and the $1,000 he earned in the final for finishing eight.

Speaking with The Guardian from his base in the United States, coach Onwuzurike explained that his son could have done better in Zurich if he had been placed in a better lane.

“Lane 1 is never a good lane for 200m,” he said. “But I see my son dominating this Diamond League from the next edition. To be in the final this year is a major achievement for him.”

During the week, Coach Onwuzurike had called on Federal Government to invest heavily on athlete to deliver a great result at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics Games.

His father, a track and field tactician, wants both the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to believe in Udodi’s ability to deliver good result at the big stage, just as he urged Nigerians to show the athlete love for his decision to switch allegiance to Nigeria in 2021 instead of representing America.

Udodi burst into limelight in 2021 winning the 200m gold medal for Team Nigeria at the World U20 championship held in Nairobi, Kenya.

Meanwhile, reigning NCAA 400m hurdles champion and Nigerian record holder (47.31), Ezekiel Nathaniel, finished third in his first Diamond League Final appearance in Zuruch on Thursday evening.

Ezekiel ran 47.56 seconds behind world record holder Karsten Warholm, who set a new meeting record of 46.70 seconds, and Qatari athlete Abdelrahman Samba (47.45). For his effort, Ezekiel was paid $10,000 in prize money, $3,000 more than he would have received if the 400m hurdles had not been classified as a Diamond+ discipline in Zurich.

Overall, Ezeikiel earned $20,000 in his first Diamond League season, made up of the $4,000 he won for placing third on his debut in Eugene, $6,000 for finishing second in Silesia, and $10,000 in Zurich for placing third.