British 100m star and son of a preacher in hot water with World Athletics over banned item of clothing

WORLD ATHLETICS have issued a warning to British sprinter Jeremiah Azu after he put himself at the centre of a religious row at the World Championships this week.

Azu, 24, wore a headband with the slogan “100% Jesus” written across it during the men’s 100m semi-finals on Sunday.

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The Welshman comes from a devout family and his dad, Alex, is a church pastor in Cardiff.

In response to Azu’s headband, World Athletics have reiterated their stance against political, religious, or personal slogans.

A statement released on Wednesday reads: “As he may compete in the relay, we will remind the team ahead of competition of our regulations and of the consequences.”

Azu is set to compete in Saturday’s 4x100m men’s relay in Tokyo with UK Athletics yet to confirm whether he will be instructed not to wear the headband again.

Born in Rotterdam, Azu has previously said: “When I’m on that start line, I feel I am not doing this just for me, or on my own, but there is a higher power behind me. 

“Whether things go right or wrong for me, it feels OK, and I am able to carry on because I know I am doing God’s work. For me, I want to spread the gospel. The faster I run, the more people I can reach.”

He finished fourth in the semi-finals, running 10.05 seconds and failing to qualify.

The top two from each of the three deciding races went into the final automatically with the next two fastest losers also going through.

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He is not the first high profile sportsperson to carry the message, though, with Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi drawing the Football Association to speak out on his “I love Jesus” armband worn during a Premier League match last season.

The Palace captain had written his slogan over the top of the rainbow armband aimed at promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Guehi replied: “The message was just a message of truth and love and inclusivity to be honest. I don’t think the message was harmful in any way – that’s all I can really say about that to be honest.”

The same “100% Jesus” headband has also been worn by Brazilian superstar Neymar.

In 2016 he put it on to collect a gold medal at the Rio Olympics, wearing it for the celebrations.

Prior to the next Olympics five years later in Japan, IOC President at the time, Thomas Bach, told all athletes of their responsibility to not to demonstrate “political, religious or racial propaganda” at “any Olympic sites, venues or other areas”.

Neymar also wore it in 2015 after winning the Champions League final with Barcelona.

FIFA opted to blur the message out of images of him next to Ballon d’Or finalists Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo later that year.

Neymar then donned the headband again upon returning to Santos.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Afghan breakdancer Manizha Talash was disqualified from representing the Refugee Olympic team after wearing a cape bearing the words “Free Afghan Women”.

It remains to be seen if any further action will be taken on Azu, who was raised in the Netherlands by his Ghanaian dad before moving to Wales aged three.

Alex remains present in Japan for the World Championships and is there as inspiration for his son.

Jeremiah said earlier this year: “I’ve seen every aspect of the church. My dad’s determination for what he believes has pushed me to go on.

“Because he’s never given up no matter how bad it’s looked. I’ve seen how many people he’s helped and housed.

“That kind of inspiration has allowed me to continue to push on where things aren’t looking great in my own life.

“I’m not going to do athletics forever. So, it’s not like I’m going to miss every Sunday for the rest of my life.”