By Olamide Abe, March 4, 2026
Reigning National Sports Festival 100m champion, Chidera Ezeakor and Chinonso Odinaka stole the spotlight on Tuesday as they completed a clean sweep of the 100m and 200m titles at the 2026 AFN Golden League held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
Ezeakor, who powered to victory in the men’s 100m on Monday, returned to dominate the 200m, winning Final C in a personal best of 20.83 seconds. His time was almost a full second ahead of Paul Otagba who finished in 21.66 seconds, while Enoch Dabo placed third in 21.76 seconds.
Running into a headwind of minus 1.6 metres per second, Ezeakor showed strong bend running and an explosive finish down the straight, underlining his growing status as one of Nigeria’s leading sprinters this season.
In the women’s 200m, Odinaka claimed gold in Final A with 24.13 seconds, narrowly edging out Mariam Jegede who clocked 24.16 seconds. Purpose Excellence Akinpelu settled for third in 24.53 seconds. With a tailwind of plus 0.4 metres per second, Odinaka’s sharp start and powerful mid race drive proved decisive.
The 400m finals also delivered exciting performances. Sikiru Adeyemi won the men’s race in a season best 46.41 seconds, ahead of Ighogboja Micheal in 46.79 seconds and Kwashi Courage in 47.90 seconds.
On the women’s side, Siviana Ossai ran 53.53 seconds to secure gold, finishing ahead of Esther Peter in 54.37 seconds and Udo Odot in 54.43 seconds.
In the hurdles, another National Sports Festival champion, Wisdom Musa, won the men’s 110m hurdles in 14.31 seconds. Abdullahi Abdulazeez followed in 14.41 seconds, while Uchechukwu Obi came third in 14.81 seconds.
Oseiwe Salami topped the men’s 400m hurdles in 52.25 seconds, narrowly beating Daniel Possible who ran 53.01 seconds and Sodiq Adebisi who finished in 53.02 seconds.
Field events were equally competitive. Clergy Edet won the high jump with a clearance of 1.70 metres, while Francess Ajagbawa and Juliana Ademola cleared 1.60 metres and 1.55 metres respectively. In the long jump, Olise Favour leapt 6.29 metres to win, with Glory Jarrett at 5.99 metres and Okoronkwo Precious at 5.92 metres.
Ukandu Judith dominated the shot put with 12.07 metres, narrowly ahead of Ruqqayah Mustapha who threw 12.04 metres. Juliana Ademola recorded 11.91 metres for third place. Mustapha also claimed the discus title with a throw of 42.87 metres, while Emmanuella Kanu and Blessing Ifunaya Ukoha finished behind her.
The maiden edition of the AFN Golden League continues to draw top Nigerian athletes across premium, classic and promotional events, with attractive prize money on offer. Premium events such as the 100m and 400m award N100,000 for first place, N80,000 for second and N60,000 for third, while other categories provide competitive incentives for athletes chasing both performance standards and financial rewards.
The next leg of the series will take place in Lagos on March 18 and 19, where athletes will look to build on the high standard already set in Benin City.
