Youth Olympics: Praise Ugoh Wins Historic 400m Gold as Nigeria Claims Third Title

Posted : 10 November 2026

Nigeria's Praise Ugoh has won the country's third gold medal at the ongoing Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games after delivering an outstanding performance in the women's 400m final on Monday, November 9.

The 16-year-old Nigerian clocked a personal-best 52.76 seconds to claim the gold medal, becoming the first Nigerian athlete to win the women's 400m title in the history of the Youth Olympic Games.

Ugoh narrowly defeated Venezuela's Osmary Pacheco, who finished second in 52.85 seconds to collect silver. Aisha Muhammed of the United Arab Emirates completed the podium, claiming bronze in 53.06 seconds.

The final produced an exciting contest, with the Nigerian maintaining her composure to secure victory ahead of her closest competitors. Her winning time also represented a significant improvement on her previous personal best.

Interestingly, Pacheco had finished ahead of Ugoh during their semi-final encounter on Sunday. The Venezuelan clocked 53.01 seconds to win their heat, while the Nigerian qualified in second place with 54.38 seconds.

However, Ugoh produced a much stronger performance in the final, improving her time by more than a second to secure Nigeria's latest gold medal.

Her achievement adds to Nigeria's impressive performances in athletics at the competition. On Sunday, Rosemary Chigozie Nwankwo won the women's 100m gold medal in 11.16 seconds, while Gift Bright claimed the men's 100m title in 10.28 seconds.

Those victories made Nigeria the first country to win both the men's and women's 100m gold medals at the same edition of the Youth Olympic Games.

Ugoh's triumph has now taken Nigeria's gold medal tally to three, giving the country its most successful gold-medal campaign in the history of the Youth Olympic Games.

Nigeria previously won four medals at the inaugural 2010 edition in Singapore, comprising two gold, one silver and one bronze. The country also collected four medals at the 2018 edition in Buenos Aires, Argentina, including one gold and three silver.

The ongoing competition in Dakar is particularly significant as Senegal becomes the first African country to host the Youth Olympic Games.

Ugoh's historic achievement provides another boost to Nigeria's athletics programme and highlights the country's emerging talent on the international stage.

With more events remaining on the competition schedule, Team Nigeria will be hoping to build on its impressive performances and add further medals to its growing collection.

Youth Olympics: Praise Ugoh Wins Historic 400m Gold as Nigeria Claims Third Title

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