Nigeria dominate athletics at African Youth Games

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Team Nigeria delivered a commanding display as athletics concluded at the fourth African Youth Games in Angola on Saturday, finishing with an impressive haul of 11 medals to underline the depth of the country’s youth talent, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Nigerian contingent won six gold and five silver medals across track and field events, asserting their dominance over the competition and capping a highly successful athletics campaign for the team.

Nigeria made an early statement in the sprints, particularly in the women’s 100m, where Rosemary Chigozie Nwakwo surged to gold with a winning time of 11.77s.

She finished ahead of South Africa’s Oluchi Ndubueze, who clocked 12.12s for silver, while Morocco’s Maria Saadi took bronze in 12.27s.

In the men’s 100m, Emmanuel Akolo added to Nigeria’s tally with silver after running 10.76s, finishing behind South Africa’s Micah Africa, who won the race in 10.67s.

The quarter-mile races further boosted Nigeria’s medal count. Hafsoh Majekodunmi delivered a dominant performance in the women’s 400m to win gold in 55.16s, finishing ahead of Ethiopia’s Desta Kurni and Congo’s Maguerita Athouaby.

In the men’s 400m, David Udoh produced an impressive run to win silver with a time of 47.77s, narrowly trailing South Africa’s Fairlie Jaydon.

Success continued in the field events, where Timothy won gold in the triple jump to extend Nigeria’s golden run.

In the men’s long jump, Godswill Nkemakolam recorded a best leap of 7.18m to win silver, finishing behind South Africa’s Jayden Fourie.

Nigeria also featured prominently in the hurdles and 200m events.

Gift Gowon picked up silver in the men’s 400m hurdles, while Tejiri Ugoh won gold in the women’s 200m, crossing the line in 23.95s ahead of South Africa’s Isabella Gunter and Gambia’s Njie Adama.

In the men’s 200m, Perfect Faye continued his strong continental form by clocking a season’s best 21.47s to earn silver.

The relay events brought the athletics programme to a fitting conclusion for Team Nigeria.

The girls’ medley relay quartet of Miriam Jegede, Miracle Oluebube, Faith Ezechukwu and Jacinter Lawrence combined effectively to win gold, while the boys’ medley relay team, comprising Gift Gowon, Emmanuel Akolo, David Udoh and Tosin Solomon Essan, also delivered a gold medal performance.

Nigeria’s overall showing on the track reinforced its reputation as one of Africa’s leading producers of young athletic talent, with the 11-medal haul standing as one of the standout achievements of the Games.

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