All African Games: Edidiong Umoafia Wins Three Gold As Nigeria’s Gold Medals Hit 14

Edidiong Umoafia, who is a former Olympic champion, won three gold medals in weightlifting events at the 2024 All-African Games in Accra, Ghana.

Edidiong Umoafia won Nigeria’s 8th, 9th, and 10th gold medals at the 2024 All-African Games on Monday, March 11, on Day 4 of the tournament.

Umoafia competed in the 67kg category, in which he emerged as the overall best after lifting 135kg snatch and 165kg clean and jerk for a total of 300kg.

Recall that the 22-year-old weightlifter won his first international medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which was also Nigeria’s first medal in the edition of the competition.

He has now used the All African Games in Accra, Ghana, to establish himself as a household name in weightlifting.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s first gold medal at the 2024 All-African Games was won by Anuoluwapo Opeyori in Badminton.

Interestingly, in the final, Opeyori had to beat his countryman, Godwin Olofua, to win the men’s singles title.

Following that, Nigeria’s female wrestlers took the country’s number of gold medals at the tournament to seven by sweeping all six golds in the female wrestling event.

At the time of writing this report, Nigeria’s total gold medals at the 2024 All African Games have hit 14 gold medals after Nigeria’s women’s weightlifters, Adijat Olarinoye, and Rafiatu Lawal, won gold in their respective categories.

Lawal won three gold medals after snatching 85kg, recording 105kg in clean and jerk, and then lifting 190kg in total to clear all the gold medals in the 59kg class. Olarinoye also grabbed one of the gold medals in her category.