Team Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel stormed to victory in the men’s 400m hurdles to hand Nigeria its ninth gold medal of the Games and the country’s second athletics gold.
Nathaniel delivered a commanding display, clocking 48.47 seconds to finish ahead of England’s Jake Minshull, who claimed silver in 48.99 seconds, while Assinie Wilson settled for bronze in 49.22 seconds.
The Nigerian hurdler took control of the race in the closing stages, producing a composed performance over the barriers to secure the biggest international title of his career and further underline Nigeria’s pedigree in the 400m hurdles.
Team Nigeria also celebrated another podium finish in the men’s 200 metres, with Udodi Onwuzurike producing a season’s best of 20.09 seconds from lane eight to win the silver medal. South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile claimed gold in 19.96 seconds.
Earlier, Jami Schlueter rounded off his Commonwealth Games debut by finishing seventh in the men’s decathlon with 7,665 points.
After ending the opening day in fourth place, Schlueter remained among the leading contenders before securing a commendable top-seven finish in one of athletics’ most demanding events.
The latest performances lifted Nigeria’s overall medal tally to 18 medals, 9 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze, with the athletics team once again proving to be one of the country’s biggest contributors as the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games approach their conclusion.
In the meantime, Team Nigeria Athletics has earned glowing praise from a former athlete and an entrepreneur Gbolahan Fatuga following the team’s impressive performances at the 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, as Nigeria’s track and field athletes continued to play a pivotal role in the nation’s medal-winning campaign.
Fatuga described the athletics team’s outing as a testament to the hard work of the athletes, coaches, sports administrators and sponsors, expressing confidence that the country’s current model can be further strengthened ahead of future international competitions.
Fatuga’s remarks came after another memorable day for Team Nigeria at Scotstoun Stadium, where both Nathaniel and Onwuzuike ended on the podium.
“Team Nigeria Athletics continues to demonstrate impressive results as the Commonwealth Games enter their final stage,” Fatuga said.
“We started on a strong note and are well-positioned with excellent momentum to finish the Games successfully.”
He attributed the success to the dedication of the athletes and coaches, as well as the backing of government, sports leadership and individual and corporate sponsors.
“This outcome is a clear showcase of the dedication of our athletes and coaches, the support of government and sports leadership, and the commitment of our individual and corporate sponsors.”
He added “Moving forward, we need to only fine-tune and improve upon this model as we prepare for the next major international competition”.
