Nwankwo, Bright win 100m gold for Nigeria at Youth Olympics

Nigeria enjoyed a memorable day at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Sunday after Rosemary Nwankwo and Gift Bright won gold medals in the girls’ and boys’ 100 metres events, respectively.

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The sweet victories gave Nigeria its first two gold medals at the ongoing Games in Senegal and underlined the country’s sprinting potential at the youth level.

Nwankwo opened the country’s gold-medal account with an impressive performance in the girls’ 100m final, clocking a wind-assisted 11.16 seconds to claim the title.

The Nigerian sprinter finished ahead of Arwa Ali of the United Arab Emirates, who took silver in 11.41 seconds, while Dana Salem of Qatar settled for bronze in 11.48 seconds.

Her victory continues Nigeria’s impressive tradition in the girls’ 100m at the Youth Olympic Games. She becomes the country’s third champion in the event, following Josephine Omaka, who won gold at the inaugural edition in Singapore in 2010, and Rosemary Chukwuma, who triumphed in Buenos Aires in 2018.

Nwankwo had signalled her intentions in the semi-finals, winning her heat in 11.53 seconds to qualify automatically for the final.

Bright completed the sprint double for Nigeria later in the day, producing an outstanding performance to win the boys’ 100m final in a personal-best time of 10.28 seconds.

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The Nigerian teenager finished comfortably ahead of China’s Hangyu Zhang, who clocked 10.57 seconds for silver, while Poland’s Szymon Dolega claimed bronze in 10.61 seconds.

The victory was particularly significant as Bright became the first Nigerian to win the boys’ 100m title at the Youth Olympic Games.

The 15-year-old had already demonstrated his potential in the semi-finals, recording 10.34 seconds to win his heat and post the fastest overall qualifying time.

His final performance took another six-hundredths of a second off that mark, bringing his personal best down to 10.28 seconds.

Nigeria’s sprint successes came after a difficult start to its campaign in Dakar, with the country initially searching for its first medal following the conclusion of competitions in swimming, table tennis and beach volleyball.

The athletics contingent featured nine Nigerian athletes, with Nwankwo and Bright among those carrying the country’s hopes in the sprint events.

Nigeria rises on medal table

The two victories have lifted Nigeria to joint 14th position on the medal table, according to the standings displayed at the time of filing this report

Nigeria has two gold medals, with no silver or bronze, placing it alongside Ecuador, which also has two gold medals.

China leads the standings with 11 gold, four silver and two bronze medals, giving it 17 medals overall. Japan occupies second position with nine gold, three silver and four bronze, while Russia is third with six gold and four silver medals.

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Egypt and France occupy fourth and fifth positions, respectively, with eight medals each.

Nigeria will hope the double sprint triumph provides further momentum for its remaining athletes as the country continues its campaign at the Games.

The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, which began on 31 October, will run until 13 November, bringing together young athletes from across the world.

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Tunde Eludini

Tunde Eludini is a graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria where he studied International Relations. He is a Senior Correspondent coordinating the sports section for PREMIUM TIMES. Twitter: @tundeyeludini

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