For Miracle Ezechukwu, the 2026 Nigeria Commonwealth Games trials represent her coming-of-age performance as she lets everyone know she is the next big thing in women’s 100m, with two medals at the Yabatech Sports Center in Lagos.
It’s not like we haven’t noticed her before, after making the roster for the World Athletics Relay Championships in Botswana, but many didn’t understand why Nigeria is betting on a schoolgirl to fill the absence of top professional women sprinters.
A day after her runner-up finish in the 100m, where she ran 11.15s (PB), Miracle Ezechukwu ran a personal best of 22.77s (0.7) to win the Nigerian women’s 200m title at the Commonwealth Games Trials in Lagos.
She led a junior sweep, with Tejiri Ugoh claiming second with 23.28, a PB, and Chigozie Nwankwo securing third with 23.40.
Also, Miracle’s 22.77s is the fifth fastest by a Nigerian in the 200m this year.
Miracle Ezechukwu: The Making of a Perfect 2026 Season
Before 2026, the fastest time Ezechukwu had run was 11.68s, which she ran two years ago.
This season, she started like a house on fire, running 11.26s at MTN Champs in Jos.
In the 100m, Ezechukwu ran two new Personal Bests at the Nigerian Commonwealth Games trials, clocking 11.16s in the semis and 11.15s in the final.
History Of Nigerian Sprinting Youths
Miracle’s performance puts her in a league with other Nigerian women who blazed the trail as youngsters.
16-year-old Favour Ofili finished 1st in the 200m and 2nd in the 400m in 2019 national trials.
Faith Okwose was 17 when she got 2nd in the 100m and 1st in the 200m in 2023.
Meanwhile, she was part of the three teenagers who made the Nigerian world relay team for the 4x100m.
The quartet featuring Miracle ran a season’s best 42.94 seconds to qualify Nigeria for the 2027 World Championships.
