Nigerian athletes made headlines in 2022 with notable accomplishments on both the national and international stages. Both young and seasoned athletes broke records and took home awards.

In this article, BOUNCE profiles five young athletes that are poised to become household names and unseat the masters of their respective sports.

1) Stella Ayanleke – Athletics

With a personal best time of 13.58 seconds and her first-ever gold medal at the National Sports Festival in December, the University of Lagos graduate ended 2022 on a positive note. She had been sidelined for a year due to a fractured arm injury she sustained in 2021.

The moment Stella Ayanleke realized that she had run a new personal best, then wheeled away to take a picture with her new PB. She had only arrived in Asaba yesterday from Lagos, and then was on the track today to compete in the women's 100m Hurdles. pic.twitter.com/yFrCPeow6W

— Making of Champions (@MakingOfChamps) December 8, 2022

The lanky sprinter began her national journey at the 2022 Nigeria University Games (NUGA), where she made her debut appearance on the track following a hand injury. With a time of 13.91 seconds, she won the gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles for the University of Lagos.

2) Marylove Edwards – Tennis

In 2022, Marylove Edwards competed in seven national events, winning six of them while losing her chance to advance to the semifinals of the Davnotch Tennis Open in May.

@marylovechamp is smiling into a 2nd consecutive @lagostenniscup final after a routine 6-2,6-0 victory over Toyin Asogba in the semi finals.

The defending champion will face off with Oiza Yakubu in women's final scheduled for Sunday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/ELQ5WP97JA

— Latifat Adebayo-Ohio (@Phatill) October 8, 2022

At the 2022 Lagos Tennis Open, the teenager successfully defended her title by winning the championship match against Oiza Yakubu. She finished off 2022 in style by winning two medals at the RainOil Open in December.

3) Favour Ofili – Athletics

Ofili was outstanding in the previous year, breaking Blessing Okagbare’s 200-meter sprint record with a time of 21.96 seconds in May at the Tom Jones Memorial. The 19-year-old was a member of the Nigerian relay team (which had Tobi Amusan, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Grace Nwokocha) in Birmingham that won gold in the 4×100-meter relays and set an African record in 42.10 seconds.

Favor Ofili is your LSWA Women's Track Athlete of the Year!

🔗 https://t.co/DgfGE3Yepb pic.twitter.com/K2erVwPfIX

— LSU Track & Field (@LSUTrackField) August 5, 2022

In the 200-meter race at the Commonwealth Games, she also took home silver after finishing second to Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah, who ran a 22.02 to win gold. Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, Grace Nwokocha, and Joy Udo-Gabriel collaborated to break Africa’s 30-year-old record with a new one of 42.22s despite not taking home a medal in the 4x100m.

4) Taiwo Matti – Table Tennis

Taiwo Matti, a 17-year-old Nigerian table tennis player was one of the breakout stars of 2022. He won two gold medals in the West African World Championship qualifications in May. He took home a silver at the African Club Championship in the same month. The teenage athlete maintained the momentum by winning three gold medals at the July African Youth Championship in Tunis.

Just in: Matti Taiwo beat Boboye Samuel 4-2 in a thrilling Men’s final of the #RenewedHopeTableTennis 16 Invitational Championship. pic.twitter.com/yiLdOhrBhg

— Edwin 🌧 (@Edwyeen) June 12, 2021

In Algeria, Mati finished 2022 by winning the silver medal in the African Senior Championship.

5) Samuel Dada – Basketball

Dada made ground-breaking progress in 2022 and saw remarkable growth. The college student began the year by taking home a bronze medal in the Lagos Crown Elites Championship. He competed in the Sam Oguche event, where he and his group took home silver.

The MVP of the #NBBFFinal8, Dada Samuel.
A highschool student and a product of @olumideoyedeji1
NBA academy
Dada in an exclusive interview with @PremiumTimesng said the Super eight happens to be his first ever participation in the NBBF League. @AlakaJide @tundeyeludini pic.twitter.com/47jPyIG7dn

— Oluwaferanmi Omoniyi (@Preacherpen) November 12, 2022