Team Nigeria officials celebrated late into the night yesterday, in Glasgow, following the performance of the nation’s weightlifters at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Onome Omolola Didih delivered a record-breaking performance to win gold for Team Nigeria in the women’s 53kg weightlifting event.

Her performance came a few hours after Edidiong Joseph Umoafia won the men’s 71kg weightlifting gold medal.

Didih dominated the competition at the SEC Armadillo, lifting 93kg in the snatch and 113kg in the clean and jerk for a combined total of 206kg.

Each of her three successful lifts established new Commonwealth Games records, giving the Nigerian a clean sweep of the records in the event.

Her 206kg total placed her comfortably ahead of India’s Gyaneshwari Yadav, who won silver with 199kg, while Canada’s Rebeka Groulx claimed bronze with a combined lift of 178kg.

To spur the lifter in every attempt, the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade, kept shouting, “More dollars.”

Didih’s victory yesterday took Team Nigeria’s gold medals to five, further strengthening the country’s medal hopes at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Earlier yesterday, Umoafia won gold in the men’s 71kg and also smashed the Commonwealth Games Record.

Amidst commendations from Nigerian officials and spectators inside the hall, Umoafia produced a commanding display from start to finish, recording 147kg in the snatch before matching the best 172kg in the clean and jerk to finish with a winning total of 319kg.

He had established himself as the man to beat after topping the snatch standings, then showed remarkable composure in the clean and jerk to seal victory and hand Team Nigeria another memorable gold medal. Samoa’s John Lautafi Tafi also lifted 172kg in the clean and jerk but settled for the silver medal with a 314kg total, while Ezekiel Moses of Nauru claimed bronze after finishing with 310kg.

The two victories took Team Nigeria’s gold medal tally to five, while the country’s overall medal count rose to nine, further underlining Nigeria’s dominance on the weightlifting platform after its earlier success in para powerlifting.

As at yesterday evening, Australia had jumped to the top of the medals table with 16 gold, all from swimming, followed by England and Nigeria.