Dakar 2026: Meet the 5 Nigerians making history at the 2026 Youth Olympics

• Nigeria's teenage athletes deliver historic performances in Dakar.

• From a school relay discovery to international glory, one sprinter's journey stands out.

• Kenya and Burkina Faso also celebrate major milestones on African soil.

Nigeria's young athletes are giving the country plenty to celebrate at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, with historic victories, personal bests and performances that have brought attention to the country's emerging sporting talents.

From a 16-year-old who has just made Nigerian athletics history to a teenage sprinter whose journey began with a school relay race, several members of Team Nigeria have distinguished themselves at the competition.

Here are five Nigerian athletes whose performances are making headlines at Dakar 2026.

At just 16, Praise Ugoh has secured her place in Nigerian athletics history after becoming the country's first-ever women's 400m gold medallist at the Youth Olympic Games.

She achieved the feat on November 9, clocking a personal-best 52.76 seconds—a significant improvement on the 54.38 seconds she recorded in the semi-finals a day earlier—to beat Venezuela's Osmary Pacheco, who finished in 52.85 seconds. Aisha Muhammed of the United Arab Emirates took bronze in 53.06 seconds.

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Winning the men's 100m final in a Games-record 10.28 seconds, The 15-year-old became the first Nigerian to win the men's 100m title at the Youth Olympics.

However, his journey into athletics started far from the international spotlight. In an interview with Punch, Bright revealed that a coach discovered his talent while he was participating in a school relay race at Osadenis Mixed Secondary School in Asaba, Delta State.

The coach, Terry Irivieda, invited him to train, and Bright gradually developed into a competitive sprinter.

His first major breakthrough came at the 2024 National Youth Games, where he won gold in the boys' 200m, representing Delta State, with a time of 22.35 seconds.

Bright has since improved considerably. His personal best in the 200m is now 20.72 seconds, according to World Athletics.

His victory in Dakar was also particularly emotional because he had been battling a thigh injury in the weeks leading up to the competition. He admitted after the race that the pain had made him afraid to run, but he was relieved to complete the final without discomfort.

Rosemary Chigozie Nwankwo made history by becoming the third Nigerian woman to win the women's 100m gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games.

The 17-year-old clocked 11.16 seconds to finish ahead of Arwa Ali of the United Arab Emirates, who ran 11.41 seconds, and Dana Salem of Qatar, who finished in 11.48 seconds.

Her victory continued a Nigerian tradition that began with Josephine Omaka, who won the event at the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore in 2010. Rosemary Chukwuma followed with another gold medal at the 2018 Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Nwankwo's winning time was wind-assisted, with a reading of +2.4 metres per second, exceeding the permitted +2.0m/s limit for record-eligible performances. However, this did not affect her gold medal.

Her victory also made Nigeria the first country to win both the men's and women's 100m titles at the same edition of the Youth Olympics.

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Rita Chisom Ezeh also represented Nigeria in the women's 400m hurdles, recording a personal best despite missing out on a place in the final.

She finished seventh in the second semi-final heat with a time of 1:01.66, improving on her previous personal best of 1:05.63.

Although she did not advance, the performance marked an improvement for the young Nigerian, who is listed among the country's emerging athletics talents.

Obanla Ehuwa rounded off Nigeria's notable athletics performances with a personal-best clearance in the men's high jump final.

The teenager cleared 1.97 metres to finish eighth in the competition, improving on his previous best of 1.95 metres.

According to the official World Athletics results, Ehuwa was among the eight athletes who recorded a valid clearance in the final.

Although he did not finish on the podium, his performance gave him a new personal record on an international stage.

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Nigeria is not the only African country enjoying impressive performances at the Games.

Kenya secured two athletics gold medals through Abigael Kosgei, who won the women's 2,000m steeplechase, and Enock Tuitoek, who claimed the men's 3,000m title.

Burkina Faso also celebrated a historic podium finish after Ibrahim Sawadogo won bronze in the men's long jump with a personal-best-equalling leap of 7.23 metres.

The achievements add to the significance of Dakar 2026, the first Youth Olympic Games to be hosted on African soil.

The competition was originally scheduled for 2022 but was postponed to 2026 following the COVID-19 pandemic, extending the wait for Africa's first Olympic event by four years.

In all, the performances of Ugoh, Bright, Nwankwo and their teammates have made the competition a memorable showcase of Nigeria’s young sporting talent.