Nwankwo leads Nigeria’s sprint revival with Youth Olympic gold

Seventeen-year-old Rosemary Nwankwo ended Nigeria’s wait for a medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games after winning the girls’ 100m final on Sunday, leading a Nigerian sprint double in Senegal.

Nwankwo clocked a wind-assisted 11.16 seconds to claim gold, finishing ahead of the United Arab Emirates’ Arwa Ali, who ran 11.41 seconds, while Qatar’s Dana Salem took bronze in 11.48 seconds.
Her victory provided Nigeria with its first medal of the competition after a difficult opening week in which the country’s swimmers and table tennis players failed to reach the podium.

The 100m triumph was followed by another Nigerian gold on Sunday as Gift Bright won the boys’ event, giving the country both sprint titles on the same day.
Nwankwo’s performance also confirmed the promise she had shown before arriving in Dakar. She led Nigeria’s 19-member contingent at the Games’ opening ceremony and recorded the fastest time in the semi-finals before securing victory in the final.

The teenager had earlier won the girls’ 100m at the African Youth Games in Luanda in December, an event that also served as a qualifying competition for the Dakar Games.

Her latest achievement makes her the third Nigerian woman to win the girls’ 100m gold at the Youth Olympic Games.
However, her winning time came with a technical qualification. The 11.16 seconds was wind-assisted and, therefore, does not count as an official personal best under World Athletics rules.

Her legal personal best remains 11.34 seconds, according to her World Athletics profile. Nwankwo was born on 22 September 2009.
Although the wind reading does not affect her gold medal, the performance places attention on her development as she progresses towards higher levels of international athletics.

Nigeria’s double sprint victory offered a significant boost to its campaign in Dakar, with Nwankwo and Bright providing the country’s first two gold medals of the Games.