Nigeria’s Commonwealth champion Folashade Oluwafemiayo and sprint star Kayinsola Ajayi are among top athletes confirmed for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. The organisers made this announcement on Sunday.
The opening ceremony is just days away, set for 23 July. Organisers revealed an exciting list of Olympic, Paralympic, and world champions from across the Commonwealth. They will compete for 215 gold medals over 11 days.
For Team Nigeria, much attention will be on Oluwafemiayo. She is the women’s heavyweight para powerlifting world record holder. Oluwafemiayo returns to defend her Commonwealth title, which she won in Birmingham four years ago.
The multiple Paralympic and world champion aims for another gold medal. She achieved a record-breaking performance at the 2022 Games, where Nigeria led the para powerlifting medals table. Nigeria won four medals there, including one gold and two silver medals.
In athletics, all eyes will also be on Ajayi. He comes to Glasgow in great form after tying the Nigerian men’s 100m record of 9.84 seconds at the London Diamond League on Saturday. The 100m event will be one of the highlights of the Games.
Ajayi will face off against defending Commonwealth champion Ferdinand Omanyala from Kenya. The competition in this event is expected to be fierce.
Scotland, the host nation, will be led by the newly crowned world mile record holder Josh Kerr. Meanwhile, England’s hopes in the sprints rest on Zharnel Hughes and Georgia Hunter-Bell.
Top athletes also include Jamaican sprint queen Shericka Jackson, Canadian Olympic champion Andre De Grasse, India’s Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra, Pakistan’s defending Commonwealth champion Arshad Nadeem, and South African swimming star Chad le Clos.
Australia, which topped the Birmingham 2022 medal table with 67 gold medals, will again have one of the strongest teams. England, Canada, India, New Zealand, and Scotland are also expected to compete strongly for overall honours.
The Games will see about 3,000 athletes from 74 Commonwealth nations and territories. They will compete across 10 sports and six para sports from 23 July to 2 August.
Nigeria is set to perform strongly in para powerlifting, athletics, weightlifting, boxing, and wrestling as Team Nigeria aims to improve on its past performances in the Games.
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