Last summer, Azeem Fahmi ran in the Paris Olympics representing the Muslim-majority nation of Malaysia. In the very first heat of the preliminary round of the men’s 100-meter dash, Fahmi finished second. While he didn’t make it out of the following round, his debut on track and field’s biggest stage could reasonably be viewed as a success — considering he was just a college sophomore from a country that has never produced an Olympic medalist in track and field.

Individually, there’s definitely room for improvement for Fahmi, who also runs the 60-meter dash and the 200 meters during indoor track season. In a team setting, however, he is undeniably maximizing his potential. The 21-year-old just wrapped up his junior season at Auburn University with a second consecutive NCAA national championship as a member of the Tigers’ 4×100-meter relay team.

On June 14th, at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Fahmi ran the first leg for Auburn in the 4×100 final, setting the tone as he’s done for the Tigers’ 2024 and 2025 national title teams. Auburn finished in 38.33 seconds to claim its second straight championship, beating out USC and Arkansas for the top spot.

This summer presents another big opportunity for Fahmi, as the track and field World Championships will be held in Tokyo in September. He could represent Malaysia again in the individual 100, another chance for the collegiate star to make solo strides before returning to school and going for a relay three-peat.