Nigeria’s 2026 indoor athletics campaign is off to a flying start, powered by two headline performances from Temitope Adeshina and Edose Ibadin, who have already stamped their authority on the season.
In the women’s high jump, Temitope Adeshina (Texas Tech) cleared 1.97m to win the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, equaling her personal best, the meet record, and her own Nigerian national record for the third time in her career. She progressed cleanly through the bar with no misses until 1.94m and took ambitious attempts at 2.00m, underlining her readiness to push beyond current limits. Her victory came ahead of Ghana’s Rose Yeboah (1.94m) and strengthened her NCAA standing. She had earlier opened her season with a winning 1.93m at the Corky Classic.
On the track, Edose Ibadin delivered one of the biggest marks of the season in the men’s 800m at the PSU National Open, clocking 1:46.38 to set a new Nigerian indoor national record and personal best. At 32, the experienced middle distance runner broke his previous indoor record from 2021, showcasing composure and tactical sharpness in a high quality race won by Handal Roban (1:44.91)
Together, these performances set the tone for what is shaping up to be a landmark indoor season for Nigeria. With records already falling, Nigerian athletes are not just competingthey are leading the charge on the indoor circuit.