2025 NSF: Team Bayelsa dominates weightlifting podium with 9 gold medal

Posted : 22 May 2025

Team Bayelsa swept most of the gold medals on offer—nine on the final day of the Weightlifting event at the ongoing Ogun 2024 National Sports Festival held at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Shagamu—to further assert their superiority in the sport.

Team Delta captured three gold medals; Team Edo got two golds, while Kano took the remaining solitary gold medal in the five weight classes of Women’s +87kg, Men’s 96kg, Men’s 102kg, Men’s 109kg, and Men’s +109kg, which were contested on Wednesday.

In the Women’s +87kg, Caroline Albert of Team Bayelsa bagged three gold medals in the snatch with her 100kg lift, Clean & Jerk with a 120kg lift, and combined total of 220kg, while Sandra Ndukwe of Rivers and Joy Yakubu of Benue scooped three silver and three bronze medals respectively in the same weight class.

Desmond Akano of Team Delta retained the three gold medals he won at the last National Sports Festival held in Asaba, Delta State, in the Men’s 96kg category. He lifted 141kg in the snatch, 180kg in the Clean & Jerk, and a total of 321kg to secure the gold medals for his state.

Still in the Men’s 96kg, Dirisu Oseni (Team Edo) won a silver medal in the snatch (128kg) and two bronze medals in the Clean & Jerk (157kg) and total (285kg). Marvellous Robinson of Team Niger secured two silver medals in the Clean & Jerk (158kg) and total lift of 285kg, while Solomon Chinedu of Cross River finished with a bronze medal with a 128kg lift in the snatch.

In the Men’s 102kg, Adeyemi Abayomi of Team Bayelsa added three more gold medals with a total lift of 315kg, comprising a 140kg snatch and 175kg Clean & Jerk.

Bauchi’s Mohammed Isyaku earned a silver in the snatch with a lift of 121kg; Team Imo’s Ebubechi Onyedikachi Akosa took silver in the Clean & Jerk with a lift of 150kg, while Team Ekiti’s Tope Oluwafemi bagged a silver with his total lift of 265kg. He also won a bronze in the snatch with a 120kg lift. Stephen Samuel of Team Plateau earned two bronze medals in the Clean & Jerk and total.

Team Edo’s Daniel Abdulihen turned heads in the Men’s 109kg category with two golds and a silver medal. He captured gold by lifting 164kg in the Clean & Jerk to beat Jamiu Yahaya Abdullahi of Kano, who won silver with his 162kg lift. Abdullahi also earned a bronze medal for Kano with his total lift of 297kg.

Abdulihen won another gold with his total lift of 301kg. He had earlier claimed a silver medal with his 137kg lift, finishing second behind Lucky Orobosa of Team Kano, who took gold with 147kg.

Team Bayelsa’s Patrick Barde won silver with his total lift of 297kg and added two bronze medals in the snatch (136kg) and Clean & Jerk (161kg).

Lucky Joseph secured three gold medals for Team Bayelsa, making it a memorable Day Four for them with his 145kg lift in the snatch, 175kg lift in the Clean & Jerk, and a total lift of 320kg in the Men’s +109kg.

A medical doctor, Benjamin Idiakheua Agboghidi of Team Edo, defied the odds to win three silver medals despite only returning from a course abroad two days before he competed.

Dr. Agboghidi earned his silver medals with a 137kg lift in the snatch, 163kg lift in the Clean & Jerk, and 300kg total lift.

Abdul Abdulhakeem Tijani of Delta also claimed the three bronze medals in the weight class.

Meanwhile, in the night schedule of Day 3 on Tuesday, Bosa Uchenna of Team Delta won three gold medals to beat favourite Taiwo Liadi of Team Oyo, who took silver in the three categories of the Women’s 81kg, while Edim Emmanuel of Team Osun bagged three gold medals in the Men’s 81kg.

Also on Tuesday, Team Plateau’s Daniel Christopher captured the crowd’s attention with his impeccable performance to win three gold medals.

The President of the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation, Dr. Ibrahim Abdul, praised the level of competition at the Ogun 2024 National Sports Festival, adding that the weightlifters discovered would be properly harnessed and monitored ahead of future competitions.

He thanked all NWF board members, referees, coaches, and the NWF secretariat, including the media, for making the Weightlifting event memorable and fun-filled.

“I will say it was a complete success for us in the Weightlifting event. We saw new discoveries and some young lifters who are capable of excelling in future competitions with proper grooming and monitoring,” Dr. Abdul said.

“We have listed some names of weightlifters who have impressed us through our Technical department, and we shall do all within our reach to properly monitor them through their states to ensure they continue to progress.

“I must appreciate the board members of the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation for their ceaseless, unwavering support; the coaches, referees, and our secretariat, including the media, for a job well done.”

2025 NSF: Team Bayelsa dominates weightlifting podium with 9 gold medal

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