Edo State has won the competition in the weightlifting event concluded yesterday at the ongoing Ninth National Youth Games in Asaba. Team Edo stamped its authority in weightlifting, with 12 medals, made up of nine gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

Team Akwa Ibom are second with nine medals made up of five gold, two silver, and two bronze medals, followed by Team Abia with three gold, while Team Niger are fourth with one gold and two silver medals.

Teams Enugu, Oyo, and the FCT occupy the fifth position with three silver medals each, while Lagos is in the eighth position with three medals (2 silver, 1 bronze).

Team Imo finished ninth at the conclusion of the weightlifting event with one silver and two bronze medals, with Plateau, Delta, and Osun completing the top 12.

Edo’s dominance was most evident in the women’s weight class, where they swept all nine gold medals on offer. Favour Cornelius (44kg), Esther Amarachi Chijioke (48kg), and Beauty Akpore (53kg) each clinched three gold medals to power Edo to the top.

In the men’s category, Akwa Ibom proved their mettle, winning five of the nine gold medals available. Destiny Okon Bassey (56kg) secured two gold medals, while Goodness Samuel Okon (65kg) bagged three to highlight their dominance.

Team Abia also impressed, with Vitalis Nnaji Chiemerie sweeping three gold medals in the men’s 60kg category. Niger’s Abdulsalam Kamaldeen grabbed gold in the men’s 56kg clean and jerk with a lift of 91kg.

Other standout performances came from Oyo’s Fathia Toluwalase Owoyele, who battled hard to win three silver medals in the women’s 48kg category, while Enugu’s Aguji Michael Chiemerie (65kg) and FCT’s Esther Chidalu Ezenwa (44kg) both claimed three silver medals. Ezenwa’s younger sister, Chinaza Cecilia Ezenwa (Lagos, 53kg), added two silver and one bronze medals to ensure Lagos made the medals table.

For Team Imo, Victory Maduabuchi Iwuoha contributed one silver and two bronze medals in the men’s 60kg, while Plateau’s Dach Veirat Dachoaaom secured one silver and one bronze medal in the women’s 53kg.

Delta and Osun each got five bronze medals through spirited performances from their lifters.In total, 12 states registered on the medals table, but it was Edo’s remarkable clean sweep in the women’s division that underlined their supremacy.

Team Edo shifted its attention to other events soon after the weightlifting event, securing nine more gold medals to maintain its top position on the official medals table.

As of yesterday evening, Team Edo had 17 gold, five silver and three bronze, while Lagos was second on the table with nine gold, six silver and three bronze medals.

Team Akwa Ibom had five gold and one bronze medal, just as host, Delta, was in the fifth position on the table with two gold, two silver and nine bronze medals. Team Niger (one gold, two silver) was in the sixth position, just as Team Kwara was in seventh position with one gold, one silver and three bronze.

In some events concluded yesterday afternoon, Delta and FCT qualified for the semifinal of the golf event to be decided today.