Bright, Nwankwo Win Double Gold For Nigeria At Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games
Teenage sprinters win men’s and women’s 100m titles to deliver Nigeria’s first medals at the Games
Nigeria opened its medal account at the Games in emphatic fashion on Sunday, as Gift Bright and Rosemary Nwankwo powered to gold in the men’s and women’s 100m finals at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop.
Bright stormed to victory in the men’s final in a personal-best time of 10.28 seconds, finishing comfortably ahead of China’s Zhang Hangyu, who clocked 10.57 seconds for silver. Poland’s Szymon Dolega claimed bronze in 10.61 seconds.
The Nigerian, born on December 20, 2010, produced his winning performance with a legal tailwind of 1.7 metres per second.
Nwankwo completed Nigeria’s sprint double in the women’s final, crossing the line in 11.16 seconds to take gold ahead of the United Arab Emirates’ Arwa Ali, who ran 11.41 seconds. Qatar’s Dana Salem finished third in 11.48 seconds.
The women’s race was run with a tailwind of 2.4 metres per second, above the 2.0m/s limit for record purposes.
The two victories gave Nigeria its first medals of the Games, with Bright and Nwankwo both finishing on top of the podium in the blue-riband sprint events.
