‘I believe we have more talent than Botswana or South Africa in 400m’: Udo-Obong Pledges ₦1m for 2026 Dynamic Athletics Meet Winners
Olympic Games 4x400m champion Enefiok Udo-Obong has thrown his weight behind the hugely anticipated Dynamic Athletics Meet 2026, pledging ₦1 million in cash prizes for the winners of the men’s and women’s 400m events.
Udo-Obong, who is based in oil rich Saudi Arabia, pledged ₦500,000 each to the male and female 400m winners, provided they achieve the stipulated winning standards of 45.50 seconds for men and 51.80 seconds for women.
The Sydney 2000 Olympic 4x400m gold medalist said his support is aimed at motivating home-based quarter-milers and challenging Nigerian athletes to raise their performances to international standards.
‘Personally, I will support the event in a way I don’t want public, but for the quarter-milers, I want to elevate 400m runners at home. I believe we have more talent than Botswana or South Africa, and their home runners run sub-45,’ Udo-Obong said.
He added that the financial reward could increase significantly if athletes surpass even higher performance benchmarks.
‘I will continue to support home-based runners, and if a home-based runner runs sub-45 or 50 seconds for women, I will double the money to ₦1 million,’ he said.
Nigeria dominated the African 400m scene in the 1980s culminating in Innocent Egbunike becoming the first African man to win a World Athletics Championships medal (a silver in 1987) and Sunday Bada winning the 400m gold at the 1997 World Indoor Championships.
The women ruled the 1990s with both Falilat Ogunkoya and Fatimah Yusuf running in the final of the event at the World Championships in 1995 and the duo of Ogunkoya and Charity Opara ranked 1 and 2 in the world in 1998, the year the former won the Grand Prix final and finished amongst the top four best amongst the women across a track and field disciplines.
Udo-Obong has also promised to support the meeting organiser in his personal capacity, continuing his longstanding commitment to the development of athletics in Nigeria.
The Olympic champion has previously supported athletes and coaches financially, including rewarding outstanding coaches and helping Nigerian coaches secure opportunities outside the country.
The Dynamic Athletics Meet 2026 is scheduled for Saturday, August 15, at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) Sports Complex in Lagos.
The 400m events are expected to be among the major attractions, with Udo-Obong’s ₦500,000 pledge for each winner coming alongside an additional ₦200,000 already pledged by Princess Mabel Madojiemu.
For Nigeria’s home-based quarter-milers, the incentive is clear: run fast, win big and raise the standard.
