President of the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF), Dr Ibrahim Alaid Abdul, has recounted the federation’s outstanding achievements in 2025, attributing the unprecedented success to strategic investment and the unwavering support of key stakeholders.
In his New Year’s message, Dr Abdul expressed deep appreciation to the National Sports Commission (NSC), the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), and other partners for their roles in what he described as a landmark year for Nigerian weightlifting.
Read Also: AFCON 2025: Osimhen Explains His Actions, Says – I Don’t Want To Take All Glory Alone
According to him, Nigeria recorded a historic medal haul in 2025, winning a total of 49 gold, 14 silver and seven bronze medals across seven regional, continental and global competitions.
Among the major highlights was Nigeria’s dominant performance at the Senior African Weightlifting Championships in Mauritius, where the team topped the medal table with 10 gold, four silver and one bronze medals.
The country also excelled at the Africa Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Ghana, securing nine gold medals.
At the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in India, Nigerian lifters claimed four gold, two silver and three bronze medals, while further regional success came at the Zone 2 West Africa Games in Burkina Faso with nine gold medals.
On the global stage, Nigeria earned a silver medal at the Senior World Weightlifting Championships in Norway.
The team also impressed at the 6th Islamic Games in Saudi Arabia, winning six gold, four silver and three bronze medals, and at the 4th Africa Youth Games in Angola, where they emerged with 11 gold and one silver medal.
Beyond competition results, Dr Abdul highlighted the federation’s commitment to development, noting the successful hosting of a 10-day capacity-building programme for 22 athletes and eight coaches.
The programme was coordinated by Austrian-based expert, Maged Salama.
He also described the NWF election conducted in 2025 as the “freest and most peaceful sports federation election” in the country’s history, an exercise that saw him re-elected for another four-year term.
“The year 2025 was a good one for us. We invested a lot and had good rewards,” Dr Abdul said. “The success stories recorded across competitions are products of the immense support the federation received from government and stakeholders.”
Looking ahead, the NWF president expressed optimism for 2026, declaring the federation’s readiness to “conquer the world,” while promising that the detailed activity plan for the new year would be unveiled in the coming days.
