Nigeria secured two gold medals in para-powerlifting at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after Folashade Oluwafemiayo and Esther Nworgu emerged victorious in their respective events.
Oluwafemiayo successfully defended her women’s heavyweight para-powerlifting title after lifting an impressive 175kg to break her own world record, which she set at the 2025 World Para-Powerlifting Championships.
The 41-year-old accumulated 134.8 points to finish ahead of her competitors and retain the title she won at the previous Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Rita Ferdinand won the silver medal after lifting 158kg, earning 128.2 points to finish ahead of Australia’s Hani Watson.
In the women’s lightweight category, Nworgu secured another gold medal for Nigeria with a Games record score of 119 points. Esther Oyema finished second with 115.5 points, while England’s Olivia Broome claimed the bronze medal.
Earlier, Roland Ezuruike narrowly missed out on gold in the men’s lightweight para-powerlifting event, losing by a decimal point to England’s Mark Swan.
Team Nigeria has now won five medals in para-powerlifting on the opening day of activities at the Commonwealth Games.
Nigeria’s fortunes were less impressive in some other events. In swimming, Clinton Opute finished sixth in the first heat of the men’s 200m individual medley, while boxers Ayomide Hassan and Abdulrahmon Abdulwahab were both defeated in their respective bouts.