Praise Ugoh became Nigeria's first Youth Olympic 400m champion on Monday, winning the women's final at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in a personal best of 52.76 seconds at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop in Dakar, Senegal.
The Nigerian sprint specialist held off Venezuela's Osmary Pacheco, who took silver in a personal best of 52.85 seconds, while Aisha Muhammed of the United Arab Emirates claimed bronze in 53.06 seconds, also a personal best.
Ugoh makes history with Nigeria's first Youth Olympic 400m title
Ugoh's victory makes her the first Nigerian ever to win the 400m title at the Youth Olympic Games, which began in 2010. SportsNow reported that the final was her first official race over the distance, after she had clocked 54.38 seconds in the semi-finals.
She is a 100m and 200m sprinter who reached relay finals with Nigeria at the World Athletics U-20 Championships in Oregon earlier this year, which makes her one-lap breakthrough in Dakar all the more striking.
Third athletics gold for Nigeria at Dakar 2026
The gold is Nigeria's third athletics title of the Games. It follows Sunday's historic sprint double, when Rosemary Nwankwo won the women's 100m in 11.16 seconds and Gift Bright won the men's 100m in a personal best of 10.28 seconds — the first time one country has swept both 100m titles at a single Youth Olympics.
Nigeria's Youth Olympic athletics gold tally now stands at six, after Josephine Omaka and Nkiruka Nwakwe in Singapore in 2010 and Rosemary Chukwuma in Buenos Aires in 2018, plus the three won in Dakar.
In other Nigerian results on Monday, Rita Ezeh finished seventh in her women's 400m hurdles semi-final in a personal best of 1:01.66, Obanla Ehuwa placed eighth in the men's high jump final with a personal best clearance of 1.97m, and Gift Oghenerunor did not start his men's 400m hurdles semi-final.
Athletics continues in Dakar on Tuesday, with Nigeria chasing more medals before the Games close on November 13.
Credit: Reports by ACLSports, Made In Africa Sport, SportsNow and Extra Sports Nigeria, November 9, 2026.
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