Nigeria’s Praise Ugoh won the women’s 400m gold medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on November 9, setting a personal best of 52.76 seconds. The 16-year-old became the first Nigerian athlete to claim the Youth Olympic title in the event.
Ugoh finished ahead of Venezuela’s Osmary Pacheco, who took silver in 52.85 seconds, while Aisha Muhammed of the United Arab Emirates secured bronze in 53.06 seconds. The official results confirmed the final standings.
The Nigerian had qualified for the final after finishing second in her semi-final on November 8 with a time of 54.38 seconds. She improved her mark by more than a second in the final, securing the biggest individual victory of her career, Premium Times reported.
Ugoh’s victory was Nigeria’s third athletics gold medal at the Dakar Games. She followed the country’s 100m champions, Gift Bright and Rosemary Nwankwo, who won the men’s and women’s sprint titles respectively on November 8.
The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games are the first edition of the event to be hosted on African soil. The competition brings together young athletes from around the world and runs through November 13.
