The National Sports Commission (NSC) has celebrated the historic feat of 17-year-old swimmer, Abduljabar Adama, who claimed the country’s first-ever medal at the world level by winning silver in the Men’s 50m Butterfly at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Romania, on Saturday.
Adama made history on the penultimate night of the tournament, becoming the first swimmer from his nation, male or female, to win a medal at a World Aquatics meet.
He hit the wall in 23.64s, exactly one tenth behind gold medalist Dean Fearn of Team Great Britain, with Czechia’s Jan Foltyn securing the bronze one-hundredth behind Adama in 23.65s.
The 17-year-old also broke his national record twice earlier in the competition. He lowered his mark to 23.61s in the preliminaries on Friday morning before clocking 23.48s to rank second after the semifinals.
Before now, Adama’s national record stood at 23.81s, set at the British Swimming Championships in March.
‘The National Sports Commission celebrates Abduljabar Adama for winning silver in the Men’s 50m Butterfly at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Romania, a feat that has never been achieved in the history of swimming in Nigeria’, the commission said in a statement posted via X.
‘Abduljabar was discovered at the National Youth Games and awarded a scholarship to London to further his development. In May 2025, he proudly returned to compete at the National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, continuing his inspiring journey’.
Nigeria was represented at the championship by six of its talented young swimmers, including Ayobami Akindele, Omotola Akinsanmi, multiple youth games medallist Aidan Dumeji-Abili, Angelo Nnaji, Kashope Obatoyinbo and 2024 sports festival multiple medallist Omolola Akindele, who all joined Adama.
Earlier this year, Adama established himself as one of Africa’s brightest prospects in swimming, when he claimed three gold and one bronze at the 16th Africa Junior Swimming Championships in Cairo, Egypt.
He also set a new African junior record in the 50m freestyle and shattered the championship record in the 50m butterfly. His feats earned him the accolade of Best Male Swimmer of the Tournament.
