Team Delta Currently Tops Medals Table At National Sports Festival

Reigning champions, Team Delta, have swiftly risen to the pinnacle of the medals table at the ongoing 2024 National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

After only two days of intense competition at the National Sports Festival, Delta has surged ahead, overtaking the early frontrunners, Team Cross River, with an impressive medal haul that includes three golds and one silver.

Leading the charge for Delta is Confidence Onyema, who made a significant mark by clinching two gold medals in the highly competitive Kung Fu events.

In addition, Favour Mike and Edirin Agha contributed to Delta’s success in weightlifting by each securing a medal—Mike with a gold and Agha with a silver.

Initially at the top of the leaderboard, Team Cross River has now fallen to second place, albeit still holding three gold medals. All three of these were achieved by Kalu Ufiem, who dominated the 55kg weightlifting category, showcasing an exceptional performance with a lift of 94kg that earned him a clean sweep.

The festival commenced with a vibrant opening ceremony on Sunday at the MKO Abiola International Stadium, featuring musical performances by David Adeleke and female musical legend, Asa.

However, the sporting action kicked off a bit earlier at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Sagamu, where weightlifting rapidly emerged as the most lucrative event in terms of medals during the festival’s opening days.

A notable highlight of this year’s festival is the introduction of the Invited Junior Athletes category—an innovative initiative aimed at integrating promising young talents with seasoned competitors.

This year, the junior athletes have made an immediate impact, currently positioned third on the medals table with an impressive tally of two golds, one silver, and two bronze medals.

This strong showing has been propelled by Amarachi Chijioke, who won both of her gold medals in weightlifting events, showcasing the potential of emerging athletes and raising the competition’s overall profile.

Team Lagos, holding fourth place, are celebrating their own achievements after Ronke Olarinoye secured the first gold medal of the 2024 NSF in the women’s 45kg weightlifting category. Lagos’s total stands at one gold and one bronze.

Teams Bayelsa and Rivers find themselves tied in fifth position, each claiming two silvers and one bronze. Meanwhile, Team Oyo remain in seventh place with one silver and one bronze to their name. Rounding out the table is Team Ekiti, which have garnered a single bronze medal during the weightlifting contests held on Monday.

With over 15,000 athletes participating across a diverse range of individual and team events, the scale of this year’s festival is striking, with a total of 2,150 medals available across 549 events.

This edition is shaping up to be one of the largest and most competitive in the festival’s history, featuring a remarkable distribution of 626 gold, 626 silver, and 898 bronze medals.

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