African Games: Nigeria soars to second position on medals table

Team Nigeria has surged to the second position on the African Games medals table after a phenomenal performance by their weightlifters on Monday.

The team secured a whopping nine gold medals, all coming from the weightlifting events.

Nigerian lifters displayed exceptional dominance, achieving a clean sweep on Day 3 at the University of Ghana, Legon.

Adijat Olarinoye (55kg), Rafiatu Lawal (59kg), and Edidiong Umoafia (67kg) each claimed a spectacular triple gold in their respective weight categories.

It’s important to note that weightlifting awards three gold medals per category: snatch, clean and jerk, and total.

Dominant displays

Olarinoye, Lawal, and Umoafia triumphed in all three disciplines, showcasing their incredible strength and technique.

Olarinoye, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion, began by lifting 80kg in the snatch, followed by 105kg in the clean and jerk, and capped off her performance with a combined total of 185kg.

Lawal, another 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, mirrored Olarinoye’s feat in the 59kg class, snatching 85kg, clean and jerking 105kg, and totalling 190kg.

Making his debut in the 67kg category, Umoafia proved his weightlifting prowess on the African and global stage. He started with a 135kg snatch, followed by a 165kg clean and jerk, culminating in a dominant total of 300kg.

Weightlifting effect

With this remarkable display, weightlifting has skyrocketed Nigeria’s medal count to 41 (16 gold, 10 silver, and 15 bronze) at the ongoing African Games.

While Egypt maintains the lead with a significant 84 medals (47 gold, 19 silver, and 18 bronze), Nigeria has surpassed both Algeria and South Africa to secure the second-place position.

Algeria sits closely behind Nigeria in third place with 15 gold medals, followed by South Africa in fourth with 12 gold medals.

Host nation Ghana remains in tenth position with just one gold and three silver medals.

Team Nigeria is in Ghana with a contingent of 358 athletes across 25 sports disciplines and they’re hoping to match or improve on their outing at the last African Games in Rabat, Morocco.

At the 2019 African Games, a contingent of 311 athletes amassed 127 medals (46 gold, 33 silver, and 48 bronze) as Team Nigeria finished second on the final medals table.