Nigerian Track and Field Championships: Battle for Commonwealth Games Tickets Begins in Lagos

The stage is set for the biggest track and field event in Nigeria, the Nigerian Track and Field Championships.

This year’s edition will serve as selection trials for the Commonwealth Games, which will hold next month in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Nigerian Championships bring together the best of Nigerian athletes both home and abroad with the sole aim of punching their tickets to the Commonwealth Games.

While a few of Nigeria’s top athletes will be absent due to visa issues occasioned by the new stringent measures put in place by USA President Donald Trump, there will nevertheless be no shortage of stars.

In the women’s 100m, it will be a battle royale between Blessing Ogundiran, the only Nigerian in the line-up this year who has broken 11 seconds (10.98) in 2026, and teen sensation Miracle Ezechukwu, who holds a lifetime best of 11.26 set this year.

Ogundiran is one of only two Nigerians to have broken 11 seconds this season, and the 26-year-old looks like the athlete to beat. The big question on the lips of Nigerian track and field watchers is whether Ezechukwu can spring a surprise and stop Ogundiran from clinching her second 100m title, three years after running 11.50 to win in 2023.

In the men’s version, Fakorede Adekalu, Chidera Ezeakor, and Enoch Adegoke will headline in the absence of world leader and Nigerian record holder Kanyinsola Ajayi, as well as defending champion Israel Okon.

Adekalu is chasing his first individual title and holds a season’s best of 10.04.

He will battle African Championships bronze medalist Ezeakor and 2021 champion and Olympic finalist Adegoke, who will be hoping lightning can strike twice in the arena where he made history as the first fully home-based Nigerian sprinter to qualify for the Olympics on home soil.

In the 400m, NCAA outdoor championships finalist Favour Onyah will be the athlete to beat, especially with the confirmed absence of world indoor leader and African outdoor leader Ella Onojuvwevwo.

Onyah will face serious competition from veteran quarter-miler Patience Okon George, who will be looking to break 51 seconds for the first time since she ran 50.71 eleven years ago.

She holds a season’s best of 51.41 and ranks fifth on Nigeria’s 2026 top list. With Onyah (50.25) and Esther Elo Joseph (50.97) expected at the starting blocks, it looks like a three-horse race for the title.

For the men, the battle for gold is wide open following the expected absence of world leader and Nigerian record holder Samuel Ogazi (43.38).

Gafari Badmus is tipped to challenge for gold alongside Tyler Johnson, the USA-born athlete who switched allegiance to Nigeria.

Johnson holds a season’s best of 45.49 but has broken 45 seconds before (44.95 in 2022). Also in contention is reigning African Games champion Chidi Okezie, who has a 45.86 season’s best but boasts a career best of 44.97.

If Okezie competes, the 32-year-old will bid for his third Nigerian Championships 400m title.

In the 100m hurdles, a new Nigerian champion will emerge following the rumored absence of five-time national champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan.

Meanwhile, the AFN has unveiled the official timetable for the Championships, with athletes set to compete for places on Team Nigeria during a three-day event from June 20 to 22.

Day One (June 20) will open with the women’s 5,000m and men’s discus finals, followed by heats in the men’s and women’s 100m and 400m. The afternoon session will showcase the women’s long jump, women’s shot put, and 800m finals, alongside the men’s triple jump and 5,000m finals.

Day Two (June 21) will highlight the men’s and women’s 10,000m race walk events, women’s javelin, women’s triple jump, and hammer throw finals.

Track action will include heats in the 400m hurdles and semi-finals in the 100m and 400m, culminating in the men’s and women’s 100m finals, expected to be among the marquee moments of the trials.

Day Three (June 22) will begin with heats in the sprint hurdles and 200m races, before concluding with finals in the 400m hurdles, men’s javelin, women’s high jump, 1,500m, women’s discus, and the 400m.

The competition will close with the sprint hurdles and 200m finals, providing athletes with their last opportunity to secure Commonwealth Games qualification.