Nigeria’s Chukwuebuka Enekwechi clinched the men’s shot put gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Thursday, producing a winning throw of 21.07m to narrowly beat New Zealand’s Tom Walsh in one of the closest field contests at Scotstoun Stadium.
Walsh settled for silver with a throw of 21.03m, while England’s Scott Lincoln claimed bronze after recording 20.99m, with just four centimetres separating the top three finishers. South Africa’s Aiden Smith placed fourth with 20.31m, while India’s Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Australia’s Nick Palmer shared fifth place on 20.27m.
Reacting after his victory, Enekwechi admitted he faced a stern challenge throughout the competition, describing the field as one of the strongest he has competed against in his generation.
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“Tom is one of the best in the world and has been for the past 15 or so years. Scotty has come up in the past few years — he’s one of the best in the world, and he’s from around these parts,” Enekwechi said. “It’s an uphill battle physically and mentally, but I’m glad it went my way.”
Asked what had changed for him in the final, Enekwechi said nothing had clicked technically.
“Nothing worked in my favour. If you watch the competition, I struggled and was pretty pensive the entire time,” he said. “But we’ve circled this on the calendar for the past four years. Last time I had both adductors torn and got fourth — I didn’t get a medal. I had to redeem myself, and I’m glad I did today.”
Enekwechi said the gold completed a wait that began at his Commonwealth Games debut in Gold Coast in 2018, where he won silver.
“I’ve dreamt about this since Gold Coast 2018. I wanted to upgrade that silver. I had to wait eight years instead of four, but I’m glad it’s finally coming true,” he said.
The win adds to Team Nigeria’s athletics tally at the Glasgow Games, with the team still chasing further medals before competition concludes.
