Late into the first day of competition, Nigeria have made a flying start at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, surging into second position on the medals table after collecting three gold and three silver medals.

With six medals already secured, Team Nigeria trail only perennial Commonwealth Games powerhouse Australia, who lead the standings with six gold, two silver and five bronze medals for a total haul of 13.

But it is Nigeria’s position above hosts Scotland and traditional sporting giants England that provides an early eye-catching feature of the medals table.

Nigeria’s three gold medals are already more than the two won by Scotland and three times England’s current haul of one.

The hosts occupy third position with two gold and two silver medals, while England, despite having collected eight medals overall, sit fourth because only one of those medals is gold.

England have so far won one gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

That leaves Nigeria as not only the highest-ranked African nation at the Games but also the only country apart from Australia to have won at least three gold medals at this stage of competition.

South Africa, the other African country currently on the table, have one gold and two bronze medals and occupy sixth position, behind Canada, who have an identical medal breakdown.

Nigeria’s six medals have an unusual complexion — every one of them is either gold or silver. Team Nigeria are yet to win a bronze medal.

The early returns offer encouraging signs for the Nigerian contingent as competition gathers pace in Glasgow, with several more medal opportunities still to come.

New Zealand are seventh with two silver medals, while Wales have a solitary silver. India and Malaysia complete the current top 10 with one bronze medal apiece.

Latest Commonwealth Games medals table

For Team Nigeria, the challenge now is to sustain the momentum.

Australia may have opened a gap at the summit, but Nigeria’s three-gold start has put the green-and-white contingent firmly among the early headline-makers in Glasgow.

And with more Nigerian medal hopefuls still to compete, the battle for places near the top of the table is far from settled.

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Nigeria enjoyed a golden night of strength, records and national pride at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games on Friday as veteran Folashade Oluwafemiayo successfully defended her women’s heavyweight Para Powerlifting title with a stunning world-record performance.

The 41-year-old two-time Paralympic champion produced a masterclass at the SEC Armadillo, breaking records with all three successful lifts and eventually raising the world-best mark to an imposing 175kg.

https://x.com/Glasgow_2026/status/2080765268372910244/video/1.

There was even more Nigerian celebration as teammate Rita Ferdinand powered to silver with a world record of her own. At the same time, Riluwan Idris later captured gold in the men’s heavyweight event.

The results meant Nigeria claimed the top two positions in the women’s heavyweight competition and added another gold in the men’s event on a memorable evening.

Oluwafemiayo, one of Nigeria’s most decorated Para athletes, made her intentions clear from her opening attempt.

She immediately attacked her own Commonwealth Games record of 165kg and completed the lift.

But she was only getting started.

For her second attempt, Oluwafemiayo pushed the bar to 172kg, four kilogrammes more than the 168kg she lifted at the 2025 World Championships in Egypt last October.

Again, she succeeded.

With the gold medal already secured, the Nigerian champion went for an extraordinary 175kg on her final attempt and completed it to cap three lifts and three records on a remarkable night.

“175 is not easy,” Oluwafemiayo said. “I was not expecting it, I was just calculating based on my training.”

Her continuing dominance, she explained, has been built around passion, resilience and discipline.

“If you have passion for something, there’s no other way,” she said. “You go with your whole heart. It’s about the passion, but also the resilience and the discipline.”

If Oluwafemiayo was untouchable at the summit, Ferdinand ensured that the Nigerian flag also occupied the next step on the podium.

She produced a magnificent final lift of 158kg, setting a world record for the women’s +79kg category and securing the silver medal.

Ferdinand described her illustrious teammate as an inspiration behind her own ambition to become a world-record holder.

“I feel very awesome, my happiness knows no bounds,” Ferdinand said.

“Folashade is like an idol to me. I look up to her and I wanted to be a world-record holder like she is.”

Australia’s Hani Watson, a close friend but platform rival of Oluwafemiayo, completed the podium with bronze.

Unlike at the Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games heavyweight competition for athletes above 61kg uses a coefficient formula that scores performances in relation to the lifters’ individual body weights.

The Nigerian gold rush did not end with Oluwafemiayo.

Riluwan Idris powered to 208kg on his second attempt to win the men’s heavyweight title and deliver Nigeria’s third gold medal of the Para Powerlifting competition.

England’s Matthew Harding claimed silver, while India’s Jhandu Kumar took bronze.

The performances reinforced Nigeria’s reputation as a formidable force in international Para Powerlifting, with Oluwafemiayo once again providing the headline act.

At 41, the Nigerian champion is still raising the bar — literally.

And on a spectacular Friday night in Glasgow, she raised it to 175kg, a world record and another golden chapter in Nigeria’s Commonwealth Games story.

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H

Team Nigeria have opened their medal account at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, with Paralympian Roland Ezuruike claiming silver in the men’s lightweight Group A Para Powerlifting event and earning an immediate cash reward under the National Sports Commission’s athlete incentive programme.

According to a press release by the sports commission, it was a day of double celebration for Nigeria as the men’s 3×3 basketball team also entered the history books by recording the country’s first-ever victory in the event at the Commonwealth Games.

Ezuruike accumulated 153.9 points to secure Nigeria’s first medal of the Games, but the experienced powerlifter came tantalisingly close to turning silver into gold.

On his final attempt, the Nigerian went for a Games Record lift of 190kg but narrowly failed to complete it, leaving him with a well-earned second-place finish.

His medal immediately triggered a financial reward under the National Sports Commission’s performance-based incentive scheme.

According to the Commission, Ezuruike received an instant $2,000 reward for his silver medal, while the performance also qualifies him for an additional $2,000 bonus, taking his total reward to $4,000.

The NSC said the incentive was part of its enhanced athlete welfare programme designed to reward excellence and provide additional motivation for Nigerian competitors chasing podium finishes in Glasgow.

While Ezuruike was putting Nigeria on the medals table, the country was also breaking new ground on the basketball court.

Nigeria’s men defeated the Cayman Islands 21-17 to register the nation’s first 3×3 basketball victory in Commonwealth Games history.

Esosa Okundaye and Ikechukwu “Ike” Nwamu spearheaded the scoring with six points apiece as Nigeria showed composure in a closely fought encounter to secure the landmark win.

Nwamu attributed the breakthrough to months of preparation, including valuable training sessions with the Netherlands national team, winners of the men’s 3×3 basketball gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“It was a great match. We fought hard and our preparations paid off as we won Nigeria’s first game in 3×3 basketball at the Commonwealth Games,” Nwamu said.

“We are now getting ready for the next two games. Playing for Nigeria means a lot to me, and every opportunity I have to represent my country means everything.

“We thank the National Sports Commission for allowing us to prepare properly. We trained with the Netherlands national team, who won the gold medal in 3×3 basketball at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and that preparation really helped us.”

Nigeria will next face Australia before rounding off their group campaign against New Zealand as they chase qualification for the knockout rounds.

There was less cheer in the boxing ring, where Ayomide Foly Hassan bowed out in the Round of 32 following a closely contested bout against Refiloe Thai.

Hassan believed he had done enough to progress, but the judges awarded the contest to his opponent.

Attention now turns to another potentially productive session for Team Nigeria, with several medal prospects scheduled for action in para powerlifting and boxing.

Esther Oyema and Esther Nworgu will compete in the women’s lightweight para powerlifting events, while reigning world champion Rita Ferdinand and multiple Paralympic and Commonwealth Games champion Folashade Oluwafemiayo will spearhead Nigeria’s challenge in the women’s heavyweight categories.

Rilwan Idris will also fly Nigeria’s flag in the men’s heavyweight division.

In boxing, Abdulramon Abdulwahab will enter the ring in the men’s 68kg category as Team Nigeria seek to build on Ezuruike’s silver and add more medals to their Glasgow 2026 haul.

Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H