Team Nigeria hunt for athletics medals
July 28, 2026 1:20 am
Nigerian boxer Patricia Mbata. Photo: World Boxing
At least four medals will be up for grabs for Team Nigeria in athletics on Tuesday (today) at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as the country’s track and field athletes continue their quest for podium finishes, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
After progressing from Monday’s heats, reigning national 100m champion Favour Ashe will be joined in the men’s 100m semi-finals by Fakorede Adekalu and Nigerian record holder Kayinsola Ajayi.
In the women’s 100m, African U-20 champion Miracle Ezechukwu advanced to the semi-finals and will be joined by Blessing Ogundiran and Rosemary Chukwuma who both qualified for the semi-finals automatically.
On the field, high jumper Temitope Adeshina will contest the women’s high jump final against 11 other athletes, while Sade Olatoye will compete for a medal in the women’s hammer throw final after securing qualification on Monday.
Nigeria enjoyed a productive opening day on the track, with several athletes producing impressive performances to advance to the next round.
Ashe clocked 10.10 seconds (+1.5m/s) to win Heat One of the men’s 100m, comfortably finishing ahead of Kenya’s Meshack Babu, who posted 10.21s. The national champion eased off in the closing metres after opening up a decisive lead.
Ezechukwu also marked her Commonwealth Games debut in style, showing remarkable composure from lane eight to win her women’s 100m heat in 11.32s (-1.5m/s). She finished ahead of Barbados’ Kishawna Niles (11.52s) and Ghana’s Deborah Acheampong (11.66s) to book her place in the semi-finals, where she will be joined by Ogundiran and Chukwuma.
In the women’s hammer throw qualification, Olatoye placed 10th in Group A with a best throw of 62.75m, a performance that was enough to earn her a place in Tuesday’s final.
Abiodun, who reports Sports for PUNCH, covers different tiers of the Nigerian football league, the national teams, as well as cricket, in the last six years
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