Rafiatu Folashade Lawal helped give Nigeria’s weightlifting community a day they will never forget after she produced a dominant performance to win her nation's third gold medal from three events at the SEC Armadillo on Monday. 

Earlier in the day, her compatriots Edidiong Joseph Umoafia and Onome Omolola Didih won gold in the Men’s 71kg and Women’s 53kg, respectively. 

Malaysia’s Erry Hidayat Muhammad stopped it being a Nigerian clean sweep when he topped the podium in the Men’s 79kg. 

Muhammad left it late, needing to lift 184kg with his final effort of the session to push India’s Valluri Ajaya Babu into silver position.

Birmingham 2022 gold medallist Chris Murray, of England, secured bronze with his final lift of the night.

Lawal (pictured), a 2025 world championship silver medallist, led the Women’s 58kg by nine kilograms, thanks to a Commonwealth record and Games record of 103kg in the snatch. She then bided her time before she began the clean and jerk. 

While Lawal was waiting, Canada’s Ann Sophie Taschereau and India’s Bindyarani Devi Sorokhaibam claimed the top two positions. In the end they were forced to settle for silver and bronze as Lawal increased her advantage with a Games record lift of 126kg that sent the crowd wild. 

“I’m proud of myself and proud of my hard work,” Lawal said. “The conditions went well for me today and the crowd was so amazing. To see a crowd shouting for Nigeria motivated me. 

“This is the best. Since I’ve been competing, I’ve never had six complete attempts, but today I had six complete attempts without any scares and I’m happy with that.” 

Birmingham bronze to Glasgow gold

Umoafia upgraded his Birmingham 2022 bronze with a strong showing that began with him recording a 147kg lift in the snatch followed by 172kg in the clean and jerk. 

Samoa’s John Lautafi Tafi chased Umoafia hard but his double failure at 178kg meant he could not overhaul the Nigerian. His silver was Samoa’s first medal at Glasgow 2026.

Nauru’s Ezekiel Moses completed the podium with bronze, which was also his team’s first medal of the Games.

“It was not easy for me, but I had to try my hardest after the last Commonwealth Games,” Umoafia said.

“After I won bronze in Birmingham I went back and trained hard, every day, every chance, every minute and I tried to use my time well. I used all my thinking for this moment, for this day.”

Didih also led from the front and stamped her dominance in the snatch when she lifted 93kg, five kilograms more than her competitors.

She and Gyaneshwari Yadav pushed each other in the clean and jerk, but the Indian lifter could not reign in the Nigerian. Canada’s Rebeka Groulx completed the podium line-up with bronze. 

Didih's performance set Commonwealth and Games records, which sent the Nigerian delegation in the crowd into rapturous applause. 

“I’m very happy and very excited because these are my first Games ever, my first Commonwealths,” Didih said.

“We have prepared really well for these Commonwealths. We came for a training tour, so we would be prepared for the weather and conditions.”