Team Nigeria Extends Medal Surge as Sprinters Join Weightlifters in Glasgow Spotlight

Posted : 28 July 2026

Team Nigeria enjoyed another productive outing on Day Four of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games as its weightlifters dominated the podium with three gold medals, while the country's sprinters advanced confidently to the semi-finals of the men's and women's 100 metres.

The day's biggest success came on the weightlifting platform, where Edidiong Joseph Umoafia, Onome Didih and Rafiatu Folashade Lawal delivered three successive gold medals in record-breaking fashion to strengthen Nigeria's position on the medals table.

Umoafia opened the golden run by claiming the men's 71kg title with a Commonwealth Games record total of 319kg after lifting 147kg in the snatch and 172kg in the clean and jerk. Samoa's Joseph Tafi settled for silver with 314kg, while Nauru's Elgin Moses took bronze with 310kg.

Didih followed with another outstanding display in the women's 53kg category, rewriting the Games records with lifts of 93kg in the snatch and 113kg in the clean and jerk for a winning total of 206kg. India's Gyaneshwari Yadav claimed silver with 199kg, while Canada's Rebeka Groulx won bronze with 178kg.

Lawal completed Nigeria's remarkable sweep by successfully defending her Commonwealth title in the women's 58kg event. She established new Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games records with lifts of 103kg in the snatch, 126kg in the clean and jerk, and an overall total of 229kg to finish comfortably ahead of Canada's Ann-Sophie Taschereau, who lifted 215kg for silver.

In line with the National Sports Commission's incentive programme, each gold medallist received an instant cash reward of $5,000 in addition to a $5,000 performance bonus credited directly to their accounts.

Nigeria also enjoyed encouraging results on the athletics track as several sprinters booked places in Tuesday's 100 metres semi-finals.

Favour Ashe eased to victory in the opening heat of the men's 100m, clocking 10.10 seconds to qualify comfortably. Adekalu Fakorede also progressed after finishing second in Heat 10 with a time of 10.21 seconds behind Lesotho's Mojela Koneshe, who set a national record of 10.07 seconds. The duo will be joined in the semi-finals by national record holder Kanyinsola Ajayi, who received a bye into the next round.

In the women's event, 17-year-old Miracle Oluebube Ezechukwu marked her Commonwealth Games debut with an impressive victory in her heat, running 11.32 seconds from lane eight to secure automatic qualification. She will line up alongside Rosemary Chukwuma and Blessing Ogundiran in the semi-finals, giving Nigeria three representatives in the race for places in the final.

The day's only disappointment came in the women's hammer throw, where Oyesade Olatoye finished 10th in Group A after recording a best throw of 62.75 metres on her second attempt.

With six gold medals already secured and several athletes still in contention across athletics and weightlifting, Team Nigeria remains firmly on course for another successful outing as competition continues in Glasgow. The team's impressive performances across multiple disciplines have reinforced its status as one of the leading nations at the Games and raised hopes of adding more medals in the days ahead.

Team Nigeria Extends Medal Surge as Sprinters Join Weightlifters in Glasgow Spotlight

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