Nigeria’s Praise Ugoh made history at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games after winning the women’s 400m gold medal to increase the country’s gold medal tally to three.
Ugoh clocked a personal best of 52.76 seconds to claim victory in a closely contested final, finishing ahead of Venezuela’s Osmary Pacheco, who settled for silver in 52.85 seconds, while Aisha Muhammed of the United Arab Emirates took bronze in 53.06 seconds.
The victory made Ugoh the first Nigerian athlete to win the women’s 400m title at the Youth Olympic Games.
Her breakthrough came a day after Nigeria secured a historic double in the men’s and women’s 100m events through Gift Bright and Rosemary Chigozie Nwankwo.
Nwankwo claimed the women’s 100m gold in 11.16 seconds before Bright won the men’s title, becoming the first Nigerian to achieve the feat at the competition.
Their victories also marked the first time Nigeria had won both the men’s and women’s 100m gold medals at the same edition of the Youth Olympic Games.
Nwankwo, Bright Make History With Double 100m Gold At Dakar 2026
Ugoh’s 400m triumph has now added another milestone to Nigeria’s athletics campaign in Dakar, taking the country’s gold medal tally to three through its track and field athletes.
The three victories underline Nigeria’s strong showing in the athletics events at the Games and provide another boost to the country’s medal campaign in Senegal.
