Veteran sprinter Brittany Ogunmokun rolled back the years on Friday night, smashing Nigeria’s long-standing women’s 500m national record at the 2026 NYC Gotham Cup in New York.
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Competing in her indoor season opener, the 35-year-old stormed to a time of 1:10.00, finishing second to American Leah Anderson, who won the race in 1:09.58. Ogunmokun’s effort earned her the silver medal and rewrote the Nigerian record books.
The performance eclipsed the previous national mark of 1:11.49, set by Regina George in Bloomington back in 2016, ending nearly a decade-long wait for a new benchmark in the event.
Ogunmokun’s run also marked a massive leap from her former personal best of 1:12.62, recorded in Boston in 2009, and now places her at the top of Nigeria’s all-time 500m list, ahead of Jennifer Adaeze Edobi’s 1:13.66.
The record-breaking outing underlined Ogunmokun’s enduring quality at the elite level and builds on her recent appearances for Nigeria, including her participation at the 2024 African Games in Ghana, while setting a strong tone for her 2026 season.
Elsewhere, Nigeria also had reason to celebrate as Joshua Caleb impressed at the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational, powering to victory in the men’s 60m final with a time of 6.67 seconds, ahead of Jaiden Reid (6.74s), while Camren Hardy finished third.
