Nigeria regains second place on the medal tally at the African Games

After winning five additional medals on Thursday, Team Nigeria has taken back the top spot in the medal standings of the 2018 African Games in Ghana.

Nigeria, who had been knocked down to third place by South Africa at first, made a strong comeback on Thursday, winning one gold, three silver, and one bronze medal to bring their total to 60. Algeria, with 22 gold, 28 silver, and 36 bronze medals, is drawing closer to Nigeria, which is currently ranked third.

South Africa, which held the second position in the rankings just a day earlier, is now in fourth place with 22 gold, 23 silver, and 33 bronze medals. Nevertheless, Egypt is coasting, as they already have 128 medals (72 gold, 29 silver, and 27 bronze).

The hosts, Ghana, have fallen further lower to 16th place, so things are still not looking good. On Thursday, Osijo Taiwo was Team Nigeria’s standout performer.

She finished with a silver medal behind Egypt’s Fatma Mahmoud Sadek Ahmed, who lifted 104 kg, and won a gold medal in the Clean & Jerk with a lift of 128 kg.

Despite finishing with the same total lift as the Egyptian weightlifter Sadek Ahmed, who won another gold medal, she was awarded another silver medal for her 231 kg lift. Osijo, ecstatic, complimented her instructor, who gave her the go-ahead to complete all six efforts without failing.

She also expressed gratitude to Ibrahim Abdul, the President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, for his efforts in preparing the weightlifters for the African Games.

“I’m thrilled and full of excitement. Osijo told the NWF media team, “My coach always said my six attempts were very important, and I got all six attempts.”

“I give thanks to God… It was difficult to win this gold medal. I adore lifting weights. I’m passionate about it. I am grateful to my coach for her inspiration and support. I would also like to congratulate the Sports Ministry, Dr. Abdul Ibrahim, the President of the NWF, and his staff. Many anticipate that Team Nigeria will perform well and win more medals in Ghana, where athletics and other sports are still planned.