Nigeria’s athletics squad kicked off its medal campaign at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, punching three tickets into the men’s 100m semifinals on a morning that delivered instant results for the Green Eagles.
National record-holder Favour Ashe dominated Heat 1, cruising to victory in 10.10 seconds despite easing off the accelerator well before the line.
He shut the race down after opening a clear gap on Kenya’s Meshack Babu, who crossed second in 10.21. Ashe now carries a season’s best of 9.93 into Tuesday’s semifinal round.
In Heat 10, Nicholas Fakorede Adekalu chased down an automatic qualifying spot, clocking 10.21 seconds to finish behind Lesotho’s Mojela Koneshe, who blazed a national record of 10.07. Adekalu joins Ashe and Kayinsola Ajayi as Nigeria’s three representatives advancing to Tuesday’s semifinals.
The early momentum echoes comments from National Sports Commission Director-General Bukola Olopade, who arrived in Glasgow projecting a strong medal haul for the athletics team. Olopade praised the squad’s morale and pointed to athlete welfare initiatives as the driving force behind the team’s readiness.
“So far, so good. If the projections of the elite board are anything to go by, we are still on track. I was with the athletics team and the spirit is very high. We are hoping for about seven to eight gold medals there,” Olopade said.
He extended his praise beyond the results sheet, crediting the athletes and officials who have worked to rebuild Nigeria’s sporting identity over the past eighteen months.
“Beyond all of this, I am very proud of the athletes and the officials I have worked with over the last one and a half years. It is so obvious that Nigeria can stand firm and be counted,” he added.
Olopade also stressed that rewarding athletes has been central to sustaining motivation. “When we said athletes’ welfare was number one, it is because we knew where we were coming from. It is very demoralising when athletes don’t get the feeling that they are appreciated. It is about patriotism, but it is also about rewards,” he said.
The athletics team’s opening burst builds on a solid weightlifting campaign, with Nigeria’s lifters closing out their events Sunday evening with three gold and four silver medals.