Nigeria Wins Six Medals, Makes History at 2026 Commonwealth Fencing Championships

Nigeria delivered a landmark performance on home soil at the 2026 Commonwealth Fencing Championships, walking away with six medals — five bronze and one silver — while also securing Africa’s first-ever international medal in wheelchair fencing. The championships were hosted at Rugby School Nigeria in Atlantic City, Lagos, marking the first time an international wheelchair fencing event has ever been staged on the African continent.

Nigeria Wins Six Medals, Makes History at 2026 Commonwealth Fencing Championships

Nigeria’s para-fencers were at the heart of the historic showing. In the women’s epee category A, Itunu Kumuyi and Joy Iorguma both fought their way to the semifinals before falling to Indian opponents, settling for bronze medals. Category B brought more success, with Joyce Otun and Abiola Rahamon also claiming bronze — a result that underlined Nigeria’s rapid rise in para-fencing. Chidinma Dennis capped off the wheelchair fencing campaign with Nigeria’s lone silver medal, narrowly missing gold after a final defeat to India’s Sheranthi Thomas.

Tonye Sawari, Programme Director of Wheelchair Fencing at the Nigeria Fencing Federation, called the results historic given how young the programme still is. He pointed out that the athletes had only begun training three months before the tournament, yet still managed to compete against nations with years of international experience. Sawari praised the team’s spirit and said the federation hopes to build on this breakthrough to raise the profile of wheelchair fencing across the country.

Akinyosoye Oluwafolayemi
Photo by Oluwaseyi #bizziteam / FIE

Nigeria’s success wasn’t limited to para-fencing. In the men’s senior sabre event, Oluwafolayemi Akinyosoye picked up his first-ever international medal. Ranked as Nigeria’s top competitor in the category, Akinyosoye fought through the pool stage into the knockout rounds, defeating England’s Charles Gellett 15–6 in the round of 16 before edging past India’s Bebit Bright 15–12 in the quarterfinal. Competing through an early hand injury, he pushed hard in the semifinal before falling 15–10 to Australia’s Yoongi Shim, ultimately taking bronze.

With six medals in total and a continental first now on the record books, Nigeria’s showing at the championships goes beyond the medal count. It signals real momentum for both able-bodied and para-fencing on home soil, and sets a new benchmark for the sport’s growth across Africa in the years ahead.

Nigeria Wins Six Medals, Makes History at 2026 Commonwealth Fencing Championships

Written by Boom RadioNG