Rising star Naetochukwu Oguegbu of Meadow Hall School and Grange School duo, Aidan Dumuje-Abili and Oluwatofunmi Ibidapo, emerged as the standout performers at the Season 7 of the Dolphin Swimming League Awards, clinching the coveted Most Valuable Player (MVP) honours.

Grange School and St Saviour’s School also reaffirmed their dominance, retaining their titles as Nigeria’s best-performing schools in the country’s premier schools swimming competition.

Oguegbu stole the spotlight with an impressive haul of 15 gold medals, earning the Best Male Swimmer award alongside Grange’s Aidan Dumuje-Abili, a familiar MVP winner. His breakthrough performance has marked him as one of the league’s brightest prospects, signalling a new generation of talent in Nigeria’s youth swimming scene.

The well-attended awards ceremony in Lagos featured remarks from former President of the Nigeria Aquatics Federation, Babatunde Fatayi-Williams, who described the Dolphin Swimming League as “the best to have emerged from Nigeria.”

He highlighted the league’s growing impact, noting that several of its alumni are now representing the country at national, continental, and international competitions.

Fatayi-Williams urged the federation to partner with the Dolphin Swimming League to replicate its success across the country.

For the second consecutive year, Ibidapo of Grange School was named Best Female Swimmer after winning 14 gold medals and one silver. Reflecting on her achievement, she said:

“After winning last year, I knew I had to redouble my efforts to retain the title. With the support of my parents, I was able to achieve that. Next season, I hope to make it three in a row through even greater dedication and hard work.”

League Technical Director Samuel Jesimiel underscored the competition’s developmental impact, stressing that it is already producing swimmers capable of representing Nigeria in the future. He also commended parents and guardians for their unwavering support, which continues to motivate the technical team to raise standards yearly.

In the team categories, St Saviour’s School, Ikoyi, amassed 954.5 points to claim the Best Primary School title. Grange School topped the secondary school standings with 1,074 points, while Boken Club emerged as the Best Club at both the primary and secondary levels.