Adelaja Shukurat
A 17-year old Nigerian; Abdul Jabar Adama has etched his name in the history books as the first Nigerian swimmer to win a medal at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships, delivering a stunning performance in the men’s 50m Butterfly event.
Competing against the world’s best in Bucharest, Adama clinched the silver medal with a time of 23.64 seconds, just a fraction behind Great Britain’s Dean Fearn, who won gold with 23.54 seconds.
Adama’s historic feat not only secured Nigeria’s first-ever global medal in swimming at a junior level but also saw him shatter two national records in one day. Entering the championships with a Nigerian record of 23.81 seconds, he lowered it to 23.61s in the preliminaries and then smashed it again with a blistering 23.48s in the semi-finals.
The breakthrough performance has ignited excitement among sports enthusiasts and analysts, with many touting Adama as a potential Olympic contender for the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
This landmark achievement signals a new era for Nigerian swimming on the global stage and marks Adama as one to watch in the years to come.
