Rosemary Nwankwo wins 100m gold at Dakar Youth Olympics

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Nigeria’s Rosemary Chigozie Nwankwo has won the women’s 100m gold medal at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, after finishing first in Sunday’s final with a time of 11.16 seconds. She defeated competitors from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to claim the title, becoming the third Nigerian woman to win the event since the Youth Olympic Games began in 2010. Rosemary crossed the finish line ahead of Arwa Ali of the United Arab Emirates, who recorded 11.41 seconds, while Qatar’s Dana Salem finished third in 11.48 seconds. The race took place on November 8 at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop stadium, where athletics events opened with Nigeria securing victories in both the men’s and women’s 100m finals.

Speaking after the race, Rosemary said she had not allowed the pressure of the competition to distract her.

“There was no pressure on me. I run my race. I focused on me, and I did it,” she told Athletics Africa.

She also expressed surprise at her winning time, explaining that she had expected to run around 11.2 seconds.

 “I have prayed for this moment, and I did it! I was not expecting a very good time like this, I was expecting 11.2 but 11.16 happened.”

 Earlier in 2026, Rosemary received a call-up to Nigeria’s senior women’s 4x100m relay team for the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana. The team secured qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. In May, she competed at her first senior African Athletics Championships in Accra, Ghana, where she won gold as part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay team and reached the semi-finals of the 200m event. She later represented Nigeria at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships in Oregon, United States, where she reached the 100m semi-finals and finished sixth in her race with a time of 11.54 seconds. Her international experience also includes the 2025 African U18/U20 Athletics Championships, where she won silver medals in both the 100m and 200m events. These performances have placed her among the emerging Nigerian athletes making their mark across junior and senior competitions.

Reflecting on how competing against more experienced athletes has influenced her confidence, Nwankwo said the experience had helped her overcome her fear of racing.

“The experience at senior competitions has made me stop being scared of racing. I don’t need to be scared again. I have competed with seniors and I believed in myself and I did it”

Her latest victory also places her in the company of two Nigerian women who previously won the Youth Olympic women’s 100m title. Josephine Omaka claimed the inaugural title at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. The 2026 Youth Olympic Games, taking place from October 31 to November 13, are the first edition of the competition to be hosted in Africa . The women’s 100m title adds rosemary’s name to a growing list of Nigerian female sprinters who have represented the country on the international stage and won at the highest levels of youth athletics.