President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Tonobok Okowa, has praised the country's young athletes after they did well at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. He said their performances show that grassroots sports development is getting better in Nigeria.
Nigeria won three gold medals in athletics thanks to Gift Bright, Rosemary Nwankwo, and Praise Ugoh. The country finished fourth in the overall athletics standings.
Bright won the men's 100m gold with a Games-record time of 10.28 seconds. Nwankwo also shone, winning the women's 100m in 11.16 seconds, making it a historic sprint double for Nigeria. Ugoh added the third gold medal by winning the women's 400m in her personal best time of 52.76 seconds.
After the competition, Okowa expressed happiness with the athletes' efforts. He noted that Nigeria sent a small team but they still performed well. "For us, it was a good outing. Some of the events where we had an advantage did not go our way, and that was not peculiar to Nigeria alone. We went there with about five athletes, and they performed well," Okowa said.
The AFN president also serves as a senior vice-president of the Confederation of African Athletics. He mentioned that the results show the federation's investment in young talents is starting to pay off. "We can categorically say that the performance shows that our work in grassroots sports development is getting better. We will continue to work hard, and I will not relent in grooming these athletes until they attain stardom," he added.
Okowa thanked the National Sports Commission, coaches, technical officials, and AFN members for their support. He said their combined efforts have helped the team achieve success.
But he also called for better institutional support and funding to keep Nigeria's athletics on the rise. "Our target is to win gold medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships. We can only achieve that by working harder and continuously improving Team Nigeria Athletics," he stated.
Looking to the future, Okowa said the federation plans to bring the athletes into camp early next year to prepare for upcoming international competitions. He mentioned a three-phase camping program with the National Sports Commission to ensure the athletes are ready.
"We need to bring them into camp again in the early part of next year. As planned with the NSC, we should have three phases of camping. That will always help the athletes," he explained.
The AFN president highlighted next year's African U-18 and U-20 Championships as a major focus. He stressed the need to prepare the young athletes for future continental competitions.
He concluded by saying that proper funding and ongoing support will be key to achieving the federation's goals. Nigeria's three gold medals in Dakar have raised optimism about the country's athletics future. Okowa is determined to help the young talents become world-class athletes.
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