Samuel Ogazi wants to be the greatest athlete ever after winning his first senior gold medal in the men’s 400m at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games on Saturday. He finished the race in 44.25 seconds at Scotstoun Stadium. This win marks Nigeria's first-ever gold in this event, breaking the record of a bronze medal won by Sunday Bada in the 1994 Games.
Ogazi finished 0.57 seconds ahead of Jereem Richards from Trinidad and Tobago, who took silver with a time of 44.82 seconds. Zakithi Nene from South Africa won bronze, finishing in 45.21 seconds.
At just 20 years old, Ogazi is already a teenage Olympic finalist from Paris 2024. He is also the fourth-fastest man ever in the 400m. He came to Glasgow as a rising star, eager to win his first senior title, and handled the pressure well.
“I would not say I had extra pressure on me. It was just a bit of weight on my back to carry. I did not want to come out here and disappoint. I was confident, I came here prepared, I have trained for this and for conditions like this,” Ogazi said.
He described his race, saying, “The first 100 was a little sluggish, but I knew I had a lot inside me. I just stayed controlled, kept it easy and kept going.”
When asked about his future goals after Glasgow, Ogazi was clear about his ambitions. “Maybe an Olympic gold, a world championship gold, become the greatest athlete ever. That is what I am working towards,” he said.
Blaine Wiley, his former coach at the University of Alabama, was there to cheer him on. He believes Ogazi can achieve even more.
“Samuel is a remarkable athlete. He made the Olympic final as an 18-year-old and has grown and matured every year from a boy into a man. There are a lot of great athletes out there, but I believe the sky is the limit for Samuel,” Wiley said.
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