With the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 46 days away, Nigerian athletes have been recording a remarkable run of individual performances across multiple sports, with the National Sports Commission setting an ambitious target of at least 20 gold medals and a top-five finish. From the track to the wrestling mat and the shot put circle, a crop of athletes in the finest form of their careers are primed to carry the green-and-white flag, PETER AKINBO writes

Tobi Amusan (Athletics — 100m hurdles)

The world record holder enters the Commonwealth Games having already demonstrated she is in the form of her life.

Amusan opened the 2026 season by winning a fourth consecutive African title in Accra before embarking on a Diamond League campaign that has been among the most consistent of her career. She finished third in Shanghai, second in Xiamen — where she clocked a season’s best of 12.28 seconds — before winning in Rabat, where she broke her own meeting record of 12.45 seconds set in 2025.



Most recently, she claimed gold and set a new meet record at the New Taipei Athletics Open in Taiwan, crossing the line in 12.72 seconds despite running against a headwind of -0.3 metres per second. Her 12.28-second performance remains among the fastest times recorded globally this year and sits third on her all-time personal list, behind only her world record of 12.12 seconds set at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene and the 12.24 seconds she clocked at the Meeting de Paris in 2025.

Kanyinsola Ajayi (Athletics — 100m)

The name that has most electrified Nigerian athletics in recent memory. The 20-year-old Auburn University sprinter staked his claim as a world-class talent at the NCAA East Regional Championships, clocking 9.84 seconds with a legal wind reading of +0.4 metres per second to shatter Olusoji Fasuba’s Nigerian record of 9.85 seconds — a mark that had stood for 20 years since it was set in Doha in May 2006.

The run simultaneously installed Ajayi as the 2026 world leader in the men’s 100m and the fastest Nigerian man in history, placing him ahead of distinguished names including Divine Oduduru, Seun Ogunkoya and Davidson Ezinwa. Even Fasuba, who held the record for two decades, has publicly backed the youngster to chase the African record of 9.77 seconds held by Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala.

He still must come through the AFN national trials in Lagos from June 20 to 22 to secure his Commonwealth Games spot, but if he does, he will arrive in Glasgow as one of the most dangerous sprinters in the field.



Samuel Ogazi (Athletics — 400m)

While Ajayi grabbed the headlines at the NCAA East Regional Championships, Ogazi was quietly making his own history on the same afternoon.

The University of Alabama quarter-miler set a new personal best of 43.82 seconds in the 400m to sit atop the 2026 global rankings in his event — becoming only the second Nigerian, alongside Ajayi, to lead the world in a sprint discipline in the same week.


The 400m is an event in which Nigeria has historically struggled to sustain consistent medal-winning form at the highest level, making Ogazi’s emergence all the more significant.

With AFN president Tonobok Okowa describing the NCAA performances as proof that Nigeria’s athletes are “on fire,” Ogazi is expected to be among the most eagerly awaited entries at the Glasgow Games should he come through the national trials.

Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (Athletics — Shot put)

Nigeria’s most reliable field athlete has continued his steady progression with another commanding gold medal performance, this time at the prestigious Znamensky Memorial in Russia, where he threw 21.27 metres to finish well clear of Mexico’s Juan Vazquez Gomez, who took silver with 20.13 metres, and Romania’s Andrei Rares Toader, who claimed bronze with 20.02 metres.

Enekwechi has long been the standard-bearer for Nigerian shot put on the international stage, representing the country at several major global competitions and consistently delivering in the clutch. His performances have helped raise Nigeria’s profile in throwing events — an area of athletics traditionally overshadowed by the country’s sprinting pedigree — and his current form makes him one of the stronger medal candidates from the country heading into Glasgow.



Ezekiel Nathaniel (Athletics — 400m hurdles)

The African 400m hurdles record holder is another name on the watchlist ahead of Glasgow. Nathaniel was among the Nigerian entries for the Lone Star Grand Prix in Texas, where he lined up against a field featuring world finalist Caleb Dean, who has run 47.75 this season, and 2022 world bronze medallist Trevor Bassitt.

His willingness to compete against elite opposition in the months before the Commonwealth Games is a sign that the federation and the athlete himself believe he is in shape to challenge for a medal. His African record places him among the continent’s finest in the event, and a strong showing in Glasgow would represent a career-defining moment.

Damola Ojo and Esther Kolawole (Wrestling)

Nigeria’s wrestling contingent served early notice of their Glasgow ambitions at the Ulaanbaatar 2026 United World Wrestling Third Ranking Series in Mongolia, where the two women helped the country finish with three medals from four athletes.

Ojo, the reigning African champion, reached the final of her category after defeating Mongolia’s Tuvshinjargal Tarav 10-0 and India’s Priya 5-1 in the semi-finals, before losing 0-8 to India’s Kajal Kajal in the gold medal bout to settle for silver.

Kolawole’s route to bronze was arguably the more dramatic of the two, with the highlight being a stunning 6-0 victory over Russian world number one Amina Tandelova before she fell 4-5 to world silver medallist Kim Ok-ju of North Korea in the semi-final, then claimed bronze with a 10-0 demolition of China’s Huan Yang.

They join Christianah Ogunsanya, who won Nigeria’s first medal of the tournament on Friday with a bronze medal victory over Mongolia’s Bayanmunkh on technical criteria. Three wrestlers on the podium at a world ranking series is precisely the kind of form that suggests Nigeria’s wrestling contingent will be among the most competitive African nations in Glasgow.