18.6.2026
Top home and foreign based athletes are expected to arrive in Lagos Friday to compete for the 2026 Commonwealth Games team slot at the Athletics Federation of Nigeria national trials starting on Saturday.
The contest will be staged at
the Yaba College of Technology Sports Complex in Lagos.
A total of 32 events will be contested, but attention will undoubtedly focus on 14 marquee events expected to produce world-class performances and fierce rivalries.
Nigerian athletics enthusiasts are already eager to see the top athletes who have been burning the tracks in the US collegiate games in recent times.
As always African record holder and former world champion Tobi Amusan, who appears to have rediscovered the form will be on hand to inspire the up and coming generation of young talents.
Amusan is the CWG 100m hurdles defending champion and from all indication she is poised to retain her title when it is showtime in Glasgow, Scotland.
She finished third in Shanghai, second in Xiamen and then produced a stunning victory in Rabat, equalling her season’s best of 12.28 seconds while breaking her own meeting record.
The 29-year-old recently added another gold medal to her collection after winning the New Taipei Athletics Open in Taiwan in a meet-record 12.72 seconds.
While Amusan enters the Trials as the overwhelming favourite in the women’s 100m hurdles, Adaobi Tabogo is expected to provide strong competition and test the reigning queen of African hurdles.
The men’s 100m promises to be one of the most captivating events of the championships.
All eyes will be on Kanyinsola Ajayi, the Auburn University star who has emerged as Nigeria’s latest sprint sensation.
Ajayi shocked the athletics world at the NCAA East Regional Championships when he clocked 9.84 seconds to erase the long-standing Nigerian record of 9.85 seconds set by Olusoji Fasuba two decades ago.
He further underlined his exceptional form by running a wind-assisted 9.72 seconds at the NCAA Championships.
Ajayi, however, will face formidable opposition from CAA Senior Athletics Championships bronze medallist Chidera Ezeakor, Olympian Enoch Adegoke, Israel Okon and Favour Ashe.
The women’s sprint races are equally loaded with quality. The depth of Nigerian sprinting will be showcased by athletes such as Blessing Ogundiran, Rosemary Nwankwo, Rosemary Chukwuma, Maria Thompson and teenage sensation Miracle Ezechukwu.
Both Chukwuma and Ogundiran have already broken the 11-second barrier, while Nwankwo and Ezechukwu possess the talent and confidence to spring surprises in Lagos.
Perhaps no athlete has generated more excitement this season than Samuel Ogazi.
The University of Alabama star, who celebrated his 20th birthday last month, recently clocked a stunning personal best of 43.38 seconds in the 400m, propelling him to the top of the world rankings and announcing himself as one of the brightest talents in global athletics.
His rise has renewed hopes for Nigeria in an event that once produced world-class stars but has struggled for consistency in recent years.
Ogazi will not have things his own way, however, with Ezekiel Asuquo, Gafari Badmus and Sikiru Adeyemi all expected to challenge for podium places.
The women’s 400m is equally stacked with talent. Ella Onojuvwevwo leads a field that includes Jecinta Lawrence, Esther Okon, Toheebat Jimoh and veteran Patience Okon-George.
African record holder Ezekiel Nathaniel enters the Trials as the athlete to beat in the men’s 400m hurdles.
The Baylor University standout has continued to test himself against elite international opposition and remains one of the continent’s most accomplished performers in the event.
Given his record-breaking pedigree and current form, Nathaniel is widely expected to dominate the event in Lagos.
Beyond the sprint races, several field events are expected to produce performances of international significance.
In the men’s shot put, Nigeria’s most dependable field athlete, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, will be the headline attraction.
Popularly known as “Mr Reliable,” early this month, Enekwechi won gold at the Znamensky Memorial in Russia with a throw of 21.27m and finished second at the Golden Spikes Meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic with a better throw of 21.43m which is .67m away from his African record of 22.10m.