In the seaside city of Oran, Algeria, Folashade Oluwafemiayo is preparing to do what she does best: lift the heaviest weights in the room and inspire a continent. The Nigerian para powerlifting champion, a multiple-time world champion and Paralympic gold medallist, leads Team Nigeria into the 2026 African Open Championships beginning today at the Miloud Hadefi Olympic Complex, where 152 athletes from 20 nations have gathered to compete for crucial qualification points toward the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics.
What makes this competition matter extends far beyond the individual medals on the line. The African Open Championships represent one of only a handful of sanctioned pathways for athletes to earn ranking points that determine who gets to compete at the Paralympic Games. For Folashade and her teammates, every lift in Oran over the next four days carries weight that reaches far beyond this moment—it shapes their futures and the future of their sport across the continent.
Nigeria has brought one of its strongest delegations to the region, sending 13 athletes including Paralympic champions, world champions, and record holders determined to maintain the country's dominance on the African stage. Beyond Oluwafemiayo's formidable presence in the women's +86kg category, the team features fellow Paralympic stars Mark Onyinyechi in the women's -67kg division and Esther Oyema in the women's -55kg class. Rising contenders Nworgu Esther and Rita Ferdinard round out a squad hungry to build momentum. Ferdinard, in particular, arrives in Oran riding a wave of confidence after a stunning victory over China's Paralympic champion Miaoyu Han at the Cairo 2025 World Championships—a result that underlined Nigeria's deepening bench of world-class talent.
The competition spans May 21 to 24 and will test athletes from across Africa and beyond. Host nation Algeria fields the largest contingent with 27 athletes, led by two-time Paralympic bronze medallist and former world champion Hocine Bettir. Egypt brings 20 competitors, including reigning Paralympic and world champions Mohamed Elmenyawy and Rehab Ahmed, alongside legendary lifter Sherif Osman competing in a new weight category. Beyond the continent, Jordan's Paralympic icons Abdelkareem Khattab and Omar Qarada will compete, as will Iranian Paralympic champions Aliakbar Gharibshahi and Aminzadeh Ahmad, who hope to dominate the heavyweight divisions.
The format spans three days of individual competition before concluding with team events on the final day. It is the third regional event in the 2026 World Para Powerlifting season, following earlier competitions in Tbilisi, Georgia, and Bangkok, Thailand. For Nigeria, Oran also serves as crucial preparation for the Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow later in the year.
With Nigeria traditionally regarded as one of the strongest nations in para powerlifting, expectations remain high that the country will finish among the leading medal-winning nations. Folashade and her teammates are not simply competing for medals—they are competing for their place at the world's biggest stage, and for the chance to represent their nation on the Paralympic podium in Los Angeles.