Nigerian athlete Samuel Ogazi has won a historic gold medal after finishing first in the men’s 400 metres final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday.

Ogazi stormed to gold after producing a commanding performance in the final, pulling away from the field to win in 44.25 seconds.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Jereem Richards claimed silver in 44.82, while South Africa’s Zakithi Nene took bronze in 45.21.

Only on Thursday, Ogazi had crossed the finish line in 44.52 seconds, the fastest time in Semi-final 1, to secure one of the two automatic qualification spots for the final.

Prior to the Commonwealth Games, Nigeria’s long-standing benchmark in the men’s 400 metres was reset, as teenage sprinter, Ogazi delivered a defining performance that signalled a generational shift in the event.

Competing at the Torrin Lawrence Memorial in Athens, Greece, the 19-year-old clocked a world-leading 44.02 seconds, rewriting a national record that had stood unchallenged for decades.

His time surpassed the 44.17 seconds set in 1987 by Innocent Egbunike, effectively ending a 30-year wait for a new standard in Nigeria’s quarter-mile event.

Beyond breaking the national record, Ogazi’s performance had also reflected a steady upward trajectory in his development.

Ogazi’s then new mark represented a personal best, improving on his previous 44.41 seconds, and positioned him sixth on the African all-time list, an indicator of his growing influence on the continental stage.

His Nigerian record is the fourth fastest 400m ever, with the student of the University of Alabama, U.S. turning up with a 43.95 seconds run in May 2026.

The closest a Nigerian had previously gone to winning the CWG men’s 400m title was in 1994 when Sunday Bada won a bronze medal, Ogazi hadn’t even been born then. (Guardian)

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