Ezekiel Nathaniel wins gold in 400m hurdles at Commonwealth Games

Ezekiel Nathaniel won gold in the men’s 400m hurdles at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games on Friday. He finished with a time of 48.47 seconds. This victory adds another gold medal to Team Nigeria’s tally, according to Saturday PUNCH.

Nathaniel took control of the race in the final stretch. He beat England’s Jake Minshull, who finished second with a time of 48.99 seconds. Jamaica’s Assinie Wilson came in third, clocking 49.22 seconds.

With this win, Team Nigeria now has nine gold medals at the Glasgow Games. This shows the country’s growing strength in several sports at this event.

Nathaniel entered the final as a favorite. He proved his skills in the heats by winning Heat Two in 48.69 seconds. He was the fastest overall qualifier, ahead of Minshull, who finished in 48.88 seconds, and India’s Santhosh Tamilarasan, who ran 49.51 seconds.

The 23-year-old holds the Nigerian record of 47.86 seconds. He has been one of the top quarter-mile hurdlers over the last four years. He reached the semi-finals at the World Championships in 2022 and 2023, as well as at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Nathaniel’s big break came at Baylor University in Texas. He broke the Nigerian record as a freshman in 2022. He later became the school’s first-ever national champion in this event. He won the 2025 NCAA Outdoor title with a personal best of 47.49 seconds. He also received the men’s track athlete of the year award.

Nathaniel is from Delta State. He left Nigeria in 2022 to chase his athletics dream in the United States. He showed great consistency during the Glasgow competition. He lived up to expectations and capped off his journey with the Commonwealth title.