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Nigeria has finished third overall and emerged as the best African nation at the 2026 Commonwealth Fencing Championship, which concluded in Lagos after six days of intense competition involving 20 countries.
Team Nigeria amassed an impressive haul of 24 medals (one gold, five silver and 18 bronze medals) to finish third on the overall standings, behind India.
The performance marked a significant milestone for Nigerian fencing, highlighted by the historic achievement of 17-year-old Oghenegaren Osievwa-Thompson, who emerged as the star of the tournament after becoming the first Nigerian to win an international gold medal in fencing.
The teenager’s landmark performance has already earned him recognition from the National Sports Commission, which has placed him in Elite Category A for the Commission’s Olympic grants programme. Under the new arrangement, Osievwa-Thompson will receive $10,000 quarterly as a training grant to support his preparations towards the Olympic Games.
The Director General of the National Sports Commission, Hon. Bukola Olopade, said the championship again demonstrated that Nigeria’s sporting potential extends well beyond football, stressing the importance of giving greater recognition and investment to emerging and non-traditional sports.
“This has shown us that beyond football, there are other sports that Nigeria is not just organising but also winning and excelling in. We must give respect and credence to those sports,” Hon. Olopade said.
The National Sports Commission also rewarded Nigeria’s medal-winning athletes for their performances at the championship and presented the Nigerian wheelchair fencing team with a special $10,000 reward in recognition of their outstanding performance.
The successful championship also reinforced Nigeria’s growing capacity to host major international sporting events, with Fencing Federation President Adeyinka Samuel expressing satisfaction with the outcome after more than a year of preparations.
“We planned and prepared for over a year, and we’re very happy to have hosted excellently. It’s a complex competition to host, and there were concerns, but we addressed it all, one at a time,” Samuel said.
The championship provided a major platform for athletes from across the Commonwealth to compete at the highest level while also showcasing Nigeria’s ability to organise a complex international sporting event.
For Team Nigeria, the combination of a historic individual gold medal, five silver medals and 18 bronze medals, alongside a third-place overall finish and top ranking among African nations, represents a significant step forward for the country’s fencing programme.
With the National Sports Commission’s expanded performance-based support now extending to athletes such as Osievwa-Thompson, the results in Lagos provide further evidence of the growing emphasis on identifying, rewarding and nurturing athletes with the potential to deliver international success for Nigeria.
