Rosemary Nwankwo and Gift Bright Win 100m Gold for Nigeria at Youth Olympics
Nigeria celebrated a historic sprint double at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Sunday as Rosemary Nwankwo and Gift Bright won gold in the girls’ and boys’ 100 metres finals. Nwankwo clocked a wind-assisted 11.16 seconds to win the girls’ race ahead of Arwa Ali of the United Arab Emirates, who finished in 11.41 seconds, while Qatar’s Dana Salem took bronze in 11.48 seconds. Nwankwo becomes Nigeria’s third girls’ 100m champion at the competition, following Josephine Omaka in 2010 and Rosemary Chukwuma in 2018.
Bright completed the golden double with a personal-best time of 10.28 seconds in the boys’ final, beating China’s Hangyu Zhang, who clocked 10.57 seconds, and Poland’s Szymon Dolega, who finished in 10.61 seconds. The 15-year-old made history as the first Nigerian to win the boys’ 100m title at the Youth Olympic Games, improving on his semi-final time of 10.34 seconds. Their victories delivered Nigeria’s first two gold medals at the ongoing Games.
The double triumph lifted Nigeria to joint 14th on the medal table with two gold medals and no silver or bronze at the time of reporting, level with Ecuador. China led the standings with 11 gold medals, followed by Japan with nine, while Russia occupied third place with six. The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games began on October 31 and will run until November 13, giving Nigeria’s remaining athletes an opportunity to add to the country’s medal haul.
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