‘I promised President Tinubu that I will break world record in Glasgow’
Goodness Nwachukwu, who won Team Nigeria’s seventh gold medal at the ongoing Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, has revealed that she promised President Bola Tinubu that she would break a world record at the Games.
  
Nwachukwu won the gold with a new world record in the women’s para discus F42-44/61-64 event, where she threw 39.66 metres.
 
The athlete set a new world record and further strengthened Nigeria’s reputation as a leading force in para sports.
  
Her latest feat adds another golden chapter to Team Nigeria’s campaign, which has already produced several record-breaking performances across para powerlifting, weightlifting and athletics.
  
The victory also marks a successful title defence for Nwachukwu, who first announced herself on the Commonwealth stage at the Birmingham 2022 Games, where she delivered one of the standout performances of the competition by breaking her own world record twice on her way to winning gold in the same event.
  
On her arrival at the Athletes’ hotel after winning the gold, Nwachukwu was received by top officials of the National Sports Commission (NSC), led by the Director General, Bukola Olopade, who presented the athlete a cash reward of $10,000.
  
An excited Goodness Nwachukwu told The Guardian after receiving the cash award that she made the promise of breaking the world record when Team Nigeria’s delegation visited Aso Villa prior to their departure for the training camp in Aberdeen.
  
“I actually made this promise at the Villa, but I never knew the NSC will keep to its promise of rewarding me, not to talk of doubling the amount to $10,000. The DG (Olopade) just told me now that another money will be paid into my account soon. I can’t believe this. I am really grateful to President Tinubu for putting smiles on our faces. I also thank the leadership of the NSC for keeping to its promises,” Nwachukwu said.
  
Meanwhile, the NSC also doled out $4,000, a double amount to 19-year-old Jessica Oji, who won the silver medal in the women’s shot put with a best throw of 17.87 meters. Her podium finish ends a 20-year drought, making her the first Nigerian woman to win a shot put medal at the Commonwealth Games since Vivian Chukwuemeka in 2006.
  
Olopade said the decision to double the amount to $4,000 instead of $2,000 was as a result of her young age.