Akintola to Open 2026 Indoor Season in Nantes, Tabugo in 60m Hurdles Action
Former National Sports Festival 200m champion Alaba Akintola will launch his 2026 indoor campaign at the Nantes Indoor Elite Meeting, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze event in France on Friday.
Akintola is set to compete in the 60m, where he boasts a lifetime best of 6.60 seconds, achieved last February in Nashville, Tennessee. The Nigerian sprinter will be aiming to build on that mark as he begins his season in Europe.
He will not be the only Nigerian in action in Nantes. Sprint hurdler Adaobi Tabugo, who made her European indoor debut in Tampere, Finland earlier this week, will line up in the 60m hurdles.
Tabugo clocked 8.43 seconds in the hurdles and 7.80 in the flat 60m in Tampere. In Nantes, she will focus solely on the hurdles and should be confident of lowering her time as she chases a new personal best.
Meanwhile, reigning African Games champion Chidi Okezie continued his strong start to the year with a 46.93 run over 400m at the BAUHAUS-galan Indoor meet in Stockholm on Thursday.
It was his second European race in January, following a 46.62 performance at the CMCM Luxembourg Indoor Meeting just four days earlier.
