Sports
TEAM Nigeria recorded another impressive outing on Day Seven of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, winning one gold and one bronze medal, while several athletes qualified for the finals of their events.
The development is contained in a statement issued on Friday by Kola Daniel, Special Adviser to the Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade.
Daniel said the highlight of the day’s performance was Chukwuebuka Enekwechi’s victory in the men’s shot put event.
According to him, Enekwechi won the gold medal with a throw of 21.07 metres in the fifth round to claim Nigeria’s eighth gold medal of the Games.
He said the Nigerian edged New Zealand’s Tom Walsh in a keenly contested event to realise his long-awaited Commonwealth Games dream.
Daniel added that world record holder Tobi Amusan also secured a bronze medal in the women’s 100 metres hurdles, clocking 12.60 seconds.
He said Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas won the race in 12.33 seconds, while Jamaica’s Megan Simmons claimed the silver medal in 12.41 seconds.
On the track, Daniel said Samuel Ogazi produced one of the outstanding performances of the championships by winning his men’s 400 metres semifinal in 44.52 seconds.
He said the performance set the fastest men’s 400 metres semifinal time in Commonwealth Games history.
Daniel also disclosed that Edidiong Udo qualified for the men’s 400 metres final after he was upgraded from third to second place following the disqualification of Jamaica’s Antonio Watson.
According to him, Udo had initially finished in 45.55 seconds before the revised result earned him a place in the final alongside Ogazi.
In the men’s 200 metres, Daniel said Udodi Onwuzurike qualified for the final after finishing second in his semifinal in 20.22 seconds behind Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor, who won in 20.20 seconds.
He expressed confidence that Onwuzurike would contend for a medal in the final.
Daniel said attention would also be on Ella Onojuvwevwo in the women’s 400 metres final, describing her as one of Nigeria’s leading medal prospects.
He noted that Onojuvwevwo, whose personal best of 49.47 seconds ranks her among the world’s top performers this season, would be aiming for a podium finish.
In the decathlon, Daniel said Jami Schlueter remained in contention after the opening day, occupying fourth position with 4,196 points.
He said Schlueter recorded 10.70 seconds in the 100 metres, 7.16 metres in the long jump, 15.35 metres in the shot put, 1.97 metres in the high jump and 49.71 seconds in the 400 metres.
Daniel further said Unyima Uwak placed fifth in the women’s T47 100 metres final with a season’s best time of 12.63 seconds.
He expressed optimism that Team Nigeria would continue its strong performance in the remaining events as it seeks to finish among the leading countries on the Commonwealth Games medal table. (NAN)
Tags: Team Nigeria
