Rosemary Nwankwo and Gift Bright made history for Nigeria at the ongoing 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, after winning gold medals in the women’s and men’s 100 meters events, respectively.

Their victory on Sunday also made Nigeria the first country to win both 100-metre races at the same edition of the Youth Olympics.

Nwankwo, the fastest athlete across the semi-final heats, won the gold medal with a time of 11.16 seconds.

The 17-year-old sprinter beat Arwa Ali of the United Arab Emirates, who ran 11.41 seconds to claim silver, and Qatar’s Dana Salem, who ran 11.48 seconds to win bronze.

She became the third Nigerian to win the women’s 100m title in Youth Olympic Games history, after Josephine Omaka at Singapore 2010 and Rosemary Chukwuma at Buenos Aires 2018.

Nwankwo, after her victory, said, “There was no pressure on me. I ran my race. I focused on me, and I did it. I’ve prayed for this moment, and I did it.

“I want to tell you guys that at the next (Youth) Olympics, expect Nigeria to win it again. We are good sprinters. We know how to condition ourselves to stay where we are. It’s a very big thing for us.”

Meanwhile, Bright became the first Nigerian to win the men’s 100m title at the Youth Olympic Games, by running a personal-best time of 10.28 seconds.

Bright beat China’s Zhang Hangyu, who clocked 10.57 seconds for silver, while Szymon Dolega of Poland took bronze in 10.61 seconds.

Speaking after the victory, Bright said, “The toughest thing here has been my injury. I’m scared when I run. I was having pain; I was praying every day to God to give me healing.

“Today I have no pain. I was not nervous or scared, because before my heats, I told myself no pressure. Just let it go in the final; do what I have to do.”