The Chief Executive Officer of the Elite Athletes Development and Podium Performance Board, Olympian Yusuf Alli, has commended Team Nigeria for setting a new benchmark at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, describing the campaign as one of the most impressive in the country’s history at the multi-sport event.
Nigeria closed out the Games with 24 medals — 10 gold, seven silver and seven bronze — finishing seventh overall and retaining its status as Africa’s best-performing nation, ahead of South Africa and Kenya. The campaign produced landmark moments, including Samuel Ogazi’s historic gold in the men’s 400m and Ezekiel Nathaniel’s triumph in the 400m hurdles, alongside a symbolic judo bronze from Enku Ekuta that ended a 24-year wait for Nigeria in the discipline.
Beyond the medal count, the campaign was marked by a wave of record-breaking and history-making performances. Para powerlifter Esther Nworgu opened Nigeria’s account with the country’s first gold of the Games, setting a new Games record with a 119.0kg lift in the women’s lightweight category, while Folashade Oluwafemiayo defended her Commonwealth title with a 172kg world record lift.
Para athlete Goodness Nwachukwu broke her own world record to win gold in the women’s discus, becoming the only athlete to defend a Commonwealth title with a world record at both Birmingham 2022 and Glasgow 2026.
On the track, the mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Edidiong Udo, Esther Joseph, Samuel Ogazi and Patience Okon-George set the first-ever Commonwealth Games record in the newly introduced event. Ogazi, just 19, went on to become the first Nigerian man to win Commonwealth gold in the 400m, while Ezekiel Nathaniel became the first Nigerian man to win the 400m hurdles title.
Temitope Adeshina claimed Nigeria’s first Commonwealth high jump medal in 72 years and the first ever by a Nigerian woman; Kayinsola Ajayi ended a 20-year wait for a Nigerian medal in the men’s 100m; Enku Ekuta ended a 24-year drought for Nigerian judo with bronze; and Chukwuebuka Enekwechi upgraded his 2018 shot put silver to gold. Nigeria’s weightlifters, including Edidiong Umoafia, Onome Didih and Rafiatu Lawal, also rewrote the record books with Games-record-breaking lifts of their own.
Speaking on the outcome, Alli said the athletes had raised the bar for the country on the global stage.
“Our athletes have set a new height for Nigeria at these Games. What we have witnessed in Glasgow is the product of discipline, sacrifice and a system that is finally working the way it should,” Alli said. “Every medal tells a story of an athlete who trusted the process, and I am proud of every single one of them.”
The Board chairman also praised the National Sports Commission for what he described as a deliberate reshaping of Nigerian sports under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu.
“The National Sports Commission has changed the narrative of Nigerian sports. What we are seeing today did not happen by accident; it is the result of structure, investment and a renewed commitment to elite athlete development under President Tinubu’s administration,” he added.
Alli pledged that the Elite Athletes Development and Podium Performance Board would continue backing the Commission’s efforts, promising fresh initiatives ahead of Nigeria’s upcoming international assignments.
“We will keep supporting the Commission in every way we can. This Board will continue coming up with innovations that give our athletes the best possible chance to perform at the highest level, and Glasgow is only the beginning of what we intend to achieve on the global stage,” he said.
With Nigeria’s sporting calendar set to include further continental and world championships in the coming seasons, Alli said the Board’s focus would now shift to translating the Glasgow momentum into sustained podium success across disciplines.
Alli speaks from a position of deep personal pedigree in Nigerian athletics. A three-time Olympian (1980, 1984 and 1988), he remains the country’s long jump record holder, having leapt 8.27m at the 1989 African Championships in Lagos, a national mark that has stood for more than three decades. His crowning achievement came at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, where he won gold in the men’s long jump, a feat that cemented his status as one of Nigeria’s greatest-ever field athletes.
He also served as coordinator of Team Nigeria at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and previously chaired the Edo State Sports Commission, experience he now brings to bear in steering the country’s elite athletes towards sustained podium success.
Photo: Making of Champions