Nigeria has added six medals at the 2026 Commonwealth Fencing Championships in Lagos, with the wheelchair fencers making history by securing Africa’s first-ever international medal in the discipline, www.aclsports.com reports.
Wheelchair fencing was staged in Africa for the first time at the championships in Lagos, with Nigeria’s athletes securing five medals across the women’s epee categories at Rugby School Nigeria in Atlantic City.
In the women’s epee Category A, Itunu Kumuyi and Joy Iorguma both claimed bronze medals after reaching the semi-finals, where they were defeated by their Indian opponents.
Category B produced another two bronze medals for Nigeria, with Joyce Otun and Abiola Rahamon reaching the podium. Chidinma Dennis completed Nigeria’s wheelchair fencing haul with a silver medal after losing to India’s Sheranthi Thomas in the final.
Tonye Sawari, Programme Director of Wheelchair Fencing at the Nigeria Fencing Federation, described the performance as a landmark moment for the country’s emerging wheelchair fencing programme.
“You cannot imagine that we started training just three months ago, yet our athletes quickly became competitive against countries with years of international experience,” Sawari said.
“This is a remarkable beginning, and we hope to build on this success to raise the profile of wheelchair fencing in Nigeria. I am proud of our athletes for making their presence felt in this tournament and commend them for their spirited display.”
Nigeria’s sixth medal came in the men’s senior sabre, where Oluwafolayemi Akinyosoye claimed bronze, adding to the gold won by Oghenegaren Esiovwa-Thompson in the men’s U-23 épée.
Akinyosoye, ranked as Nigeria’s top competitor in the event, progressed to the elimination rounds after coming through Pool 2, where he recorded a 15–6 win over England’s Charles Gellett in the last 16 before edging India’s Bebit Bright 15–12 in the quarter-finals.
Despite sustaining an early hand injury, Akinyosoye battled through to the semi-finals, where he lost 15–10 to Australia’s Yoongi Shim to settle for bronze.
