Oluwafemiayo Smashes World Record Twice To Win Heavyweight Gold In Glasgow

Team Nigeria captain Folashade Oluwafemiayo produced a stunning performance on the opening day of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, breaking her own world record twice to retain the women’s heavyweight para powerlifting title in emphatic fashion.
Competing at the Glasgow 2026 Games on Friday, the Nigerian superstar underlined her status as one of the greatest para powerlifters of all time with a dominant display that also delivered a new Commonwealth Games record.
Oluwafemiayo opened her campaign with a commanding lift of 165kg, immediately setting a new Games record and putting herself firmly in control of the competition. She then raised the stakes with her second attempt, successfully lifting 172kg to surpass her own previous world record.
With the gold medal already secured, the Nigerian captain returned for a final attempt and produced the lift of the day, hoisting 175kg to break her world record for the second time in the same competition.
The remarkable feat sparked celebrations within the Nigerian camp and gave Team Nigeria one of its most memorable moments of the Games so far.
The triumph also confirmed Oluwafemiayo’s continued dominance of the women’s heavyweight division, a category in which she has established herself as the athlete to beat on the global stage.
Nigeria completed a historic one-two finish in the event as compatriot Rita Ferdinand claimed the silver medal with an outstanding performance of her own. Ferdinand lifted 158kg, a mark that set a new world record in her sport class and further highlighted Nigeria’s extraordinary strength in para powerlifting.
The double podium finish added to an already impressive opening day for Team Nigeria, with both athletes writing their names into the record books in Glasgow.
Officials of the National Sports Commission hailed the performance as another demonstration of Nigeria’s enduring pedigree in para powerlifting, a sport in which the country has consistently produced world champions and Paralympic medallists.
For Oluwafemiayo, the victory was not merely another gold medal but a powerful statement of intent for the rest of the Games. By breaking the world record twice within the space of a few minutes, the Nigerian captain reaffirmed her position as the standard bearer of the nation’s para powerlifting programme and one of the Commonwealth’s most dominant athletes.
Her history-making performance, coupled with Ferdinand’s world-record silver, ensured that Nigeria began its Glasgow 2026 campaign in spectacular fashion and once again confirmed the country’s status as a global powerhouse in para powerlifting.