Nigeria made history at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Sunday, sweeping the men’s and women’s 100m titles through Gift Bright and Rosemary Chigozie Nwankwo to become the first country to win both sprint crowns at the same edition of the competition.
Bright powered to victory in the men’s final in a personal best of 10.28 seconds, finishing ahead of China’s Hangyu Zhang, who clocked 10.57 seconds, while Poland’s Szymon Dolega claimed bronze in 10.61 seconds.
The victory also made Bright the first Nigerian to win the men’s 100m title at the Youth Olympics. He had underlined his medal credentials in the semi-finals, winning his heat in 10.34 seconds to qualify as the fastest entrant in the final.
Nwankwo completed Nigeria’s sprint double in the women’s event, storming to gold in 11.16 seconds ahead of the United Arab Emirates’ Arwa Ali (11.41 seconds) and Qatar’s Dana Salem (11.48 seconds).
The 17-year-old had also dominated her semi-final heat, clocking 11.53 seconds to qualify with the fastest time across both heats.
Her victory made her the third Nigerian woman to win the Youth Olympics 100m title, following Josephine Omaka at Singapore 2010 and Rosemary Chukwuma at Buenos Aires 2018.
The two gold medals opened Nigeria’s medal account in Dakar, with the Games scheduled to run until November 13.
The double triumph marks a significant achievement for Nigeria’s young athletics contingent, giving the country a major boost as its athletes continue their quest for medals at the Games.
