By Teddy Nwanunobi
Nigeria launched its athletics campaign at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games with a historic sprint double on Sunday, winning gold in both the boys’ and girls’ 100m finals at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop.
It made it a triple history on Monday, when it won its first women’s 400m title to claim gold.
Rosemary Nwankwo opened Nigeria’s gold-medal account, racing to victory in the girls’ 100m in 11.16 seconds — a personal best, while Gift Bright completed the double minutes later, setting a Games record of 10.28 seconds to win the boys’ final.
Bright set a Games record of 10.28 seconds in the boys’ final. China’s Zhang Hangyu finished second in 10.57, while Poland’s Szymon Dolega took bronze in 10.61. Bright became the first Nigerian to win the Youth Olympics boys’ 100m title.
Nwankwo won the girls’ race in 11.16 seconds, ahead of Arwa Ali of the United Arab Emirates, who clocked 11.41, and Qatar’s Dana Salem, who finished in 11.48. Her victory made her the third Nigerian woman to win the Youth Olympics 100m, after Josephine Omaka in 2010 and Rosemary Chukwuma in 2018.
Nigeria became the first country to win both the boys’ and girls’ 100m gold medals at a single Youth Olympics.
After claiming the girls’ title, Nwankwo said she had stayed focused on her race.
“There was no pressure on me. I ran my race. I focused on me, and I did it. I’ve prayed for this moment, and I did it,” she said.
Bright said a thigh injury had troubled him before the competition, but he was pain-free in the final.
“The toughest thing here has been my injury. I’m scared when I run. I was having pain; I was praying every day to God to give me healing. Today I have no pain. I was not nervous or scared, because before my heats, I told myself no pressure. Just let it go in the final; do what I have to do,” he said.
Nwankwo said she expected Nigeria to remain a force in sprinting, adding: “At the next (Youth) Olympics, expect Nigeria to win it again. We are good sprinters. We know how to condition ourselves to stay where we are. It’s a very big thing for us.”
In the women’s 400m title, Praise Ugoh made history, by becoming the first Nigerian to win the title after producing a personal best of 52.76 seconds to claim gold.
She delivered a superb performance in the final to finish ahead of Venezuela’s Osmary Pacheco, who clocked 52.85 seconds, while Aisha Muhammed of the United Arab Emirates settled for bronze in 53.06 seconds.
Her victory marked another significant achievement for the country’s athletics contingent in Dakar, adding to its growing medal haul at the Games.
Ugoh had booked her place in the final on Sunday after finishing second in her semi-final heat in 54.38 seconds, behind Pacheco, who clocked 53.01 seconds.
She improved considerably in the final, taking more than a second off her semi-final time to secure the biggest victory of her young career.
The gold also adds to Nigeria’s growing athletics success at the Games, following the country’s historic men’s and women’s 100m victories through Gift Bright and Rosemary Nwankwo.
Bright won the men’s 100m in 10.28 seconds, while Nwankwo claimed the women’s title in 11.16 seconds, making Nigeria the first country to win both sprint crowns at the same edition of the Youth Olympics.
Ugoh’s triumph further strengthens Nigeria’s presence in the athletics competition as the country continues its campaign at the first Youth Olympic Games to be hosted on African soil.