Duan Asemota

Duan Asemota (born August 29, 1996) is a Canadian sprinter specializing in the 100 metres. He represented Canada at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, competing in both the 100 metres and the 4 × 100 metres relay. Asemota is a multiple-time national team member and a former NCAA All-American.

Asemota was born in Montreal, Quebec, and raised in Ajax, Ontario. He is of Nigerian descent.^[1] He began track and field at the age of eight but focused on sprinting during high school at Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School. Asemota was a multi-sport athlete, also playing basketball for the Durham City Bulldogs and soccer for Pickering Soccer Club. In 2014, he broke his high school's senior records in both the 100 metres and 200 metres.

After high school, Asemota attended Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, earning an associate degree before transferring to Ohio State University, where he majored in communication studies and competed in NCAA Division I track and field.

At Ohio State, Asemota became a First-Team All-American, contributing to the 4×100 metre relay team's school record and second-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships. He also earned silver in the 100 metres at the 2018 Big Ten Championships and helped the relay team win the Big Ten title that year.

Asemota made his international debut at the 2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in Edmonton, Alberta. In 2016, he competed at the NACAC U23 Championships in San Salvador, running 10.87 seconds in the 100 metres preliminaries and helping Canada's 4×100 metre relay team to a fifth-place finish in 40.55 seconds.

In 2019, Asemota finished fifth in the 100 metres at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Naples.

In 2023, he placed fifth in the 100 metres at the Canadian Track and Field Championships, earning a spot on Canada's 4×100 metre relay team for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Asemota competed in the men's 100 metres, finishing fifth in his heat with a time of 10.17 seconds, narrowly missing advancement to the semifinals. He also participated in the 4×100 metre relay. Asemota later revealed he had been managing a torn labrum and sports hernia during the Games.^[2]

In March 2025, Asemota won the men's 60 metres at the Canadian Indoor Championships in Toronto with a time of 6.70 seconds. He also anchored his club, Speed with Attitude, to gold in the 4×200 metre relay in 1:30.51, setting a new championship record.^[3]

Asemota is coached by Charles Allen, a former Canadian Olympian and current Hub Coach for Sprints and Hurdles (East) with Athletics Canada.

• List of Canadian sports personalities
• Athletics in Canada

• Duan Asemota at World Athletics
• Duan Asemota at Olympics.com
• Duan Asemota at Athletics Canada
• Duan Asemota at Team Canada