Extraordinary! That’s the word that best describes the performance of certain African countries in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and like we would always say, a win for one is a win for all.
The 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games officially known as XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly called ‘Birmingham 2022’ after the host city- Birmingham England, was held from 28 July to 8 August 2022.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The games which were initiated as a means to bring together members of the British Empire to increase goodwill and understanding of the British Empire has today established itself as an International multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Promoting peace, progress, liberty and an equal association of nations and races.
Since its inception in 1930, the event has been held successfully every four years with 1942 and 1946 as exceptions owing to World War II. The event has also gone through a variety of names. It was initially called the British Empire Games till 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games(1954-1966), the British Commonwealth Games(1970-1974) and finally, the Commonwealth Games from 1978 till date.
Although there are officially 56 members of the Commonwealth of Nations (Gabon and Togo were newly admitted on 25 June 2022 and were unable to put their teams forward as the games kicked off barely a month after), 72 teams participated in the games. This is because the Home Nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies competed under their flags and not as Great Britain as they would usually do in the Olympics and other multisports games.
Unique events that make up a part of the Games are the hoisting of the Commonwealth Games Flag, the Queen’s/King’s Baton Relay, and the Opening and Closing ceremonies. The games coincided with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year (which abruptly came to an end upon Her Majesty’s passing on 8 September 2022. May her Soul Rest In Peace), which was the largest ever held. It also had more events for women than men and it’s the first paraplegic Integrated event in the history of the games.
Nineteen African country teams participated in the games and thirteen were able to haul a total of 117 medals of which 30 were gold, 35 silver and 52 bronze from the medal table. Africans did not only win medals but also broke and set new records. For the first time in a century, women outperformed men and hurled as much as they could off the medal table.
Let’s take a walk through Africans’ sterling performances in the Commonwealth Games 2022 in the order of their standings on Africa’s medal table.
Team Nigeria who made her debut in the Commonwealth Games in 1950 topped the list with a whopping total of 35 medals won in the games of which 12 were gold, 9 silver and 14 bronze medals. Like it was mentioned earlier, not only were medals won but records were also broken and new ones were set.
Breaking Records and Making History Worthy of mention is Tobi Amusan who has been dubbed ‘Nigeria’s track Golden Girl’ having won the gold medal for the women’s 100m hurdles and became the second sprint hurdler to defend the title she had secured four years ago in the Commonwealth Games which was held in Gold Coast, Australia.
She also erased the 12.65s Games record set by Jamaican athlete Brigitte Foster-Hylton in 2006 by finishing 12.30s which is now the Games new 100m hurdles record.
Before this, Amusan had smashed a world record in the Semi-final at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon on 24 July by finishing a ratified 12.12s and 12.06s in the final which unfortunately won’t be recognized as a world record due to a tailwind of +2.5 m/s. However, she secured her first global medal which is also a first ever for Nigeria at a World Championship.
The 25-year-old crowned her successes with a remarkable performance at the Diamond League final in Zurich. Finishing 12.29s and breaking a 22 year-old meeting record in the women’s 100m hurdle. It is indeed a stellar year for the young athlete.
A second gold medal win for her in the games was in the women’s 4×100 meters alongside Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma and Grace Nwokocha where they set a new African record time of 42.10s.
On the last day of Athletics at the Games, Ese Brume leapt to a new Games Record, jumping 7.00m (+1.6) to reclaim the Long Jump Commonwealth title she last won in the 20th edition, 2014 at Glasgow, Scotland. She has become the first African woman in history to jump four legal marks over 7 meters.
Also of noteworthy recognition are lifters like Adijat Olarinoye, Alice Oluwafemilayo and Rafiatu Lawal who set new Commonwealth Games records in their respective categories.
NIGERIA Gold Medalist
Ese Brume- Women’s long jump
Tobi Amusan- Women’s 100m hurdles
Eucharia Iyiazi- Women’s F55-57 shot put
Chioma Onyekwere- Women’s discus throw
Adijat Olarinoye- Weightlifting women’s 55kg
Rafiatu Lawal- Weightlifting women’s 59kg
Odunayo Adekuoroye- Wrestling women’s freestyle 57 kg
Blessing Oborududu- Wrestling women’s freestyle 68 kg
Genesis Miesinnei Mercy- Wrestling women’s freestyle 50 kg
Alice Oluwafemiayo- Para-powerlifting women’s heavyweight
Goodness Nwachukwu- Women’s discus throw F42-44/61-64
Tobi Amusan, Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma and Grace Nwokocha- Women’s 4x100m relay
NIGERIA Silver Medalist
Favour Ofili- Women’s 200m
Elizabeth Oshoba- Women’s featherweight boxing
Ikechukwu Obichukwu- Para-powerlifting men’s heavyweight
Bose Omolayo- Para-powerlifting women’s heavyweight
Ifechukwude Ikpeoyi- Para-table tennis women’s singles classes 3-5
Nasiru Sule- Para-table tennis men’s singles classes 3-5
Taiwo Liadi- Weightlifting women’s 76kg
Hannah Reuben- Wrestling women’s freestyle 76kg
Ebikewenimo Welson- Wrestling men’s freestyle 57kg
NIGERIA Bronze Medalist
Ugochi Constance Alam- Women’s F55-57 shot put
Obiageri Amaechi- Women’s discus throw
Ifeanyi Onyekwere- Men’s super heavyweight boxing
Jacinta Umunnake- Women’s middleweight boxing
Cynthia Ogunsemilore- Women’s lightweight boxing
Innocent Nnamdi- Para-powerlifting men’s lightweight
Isau Ogunkunle- Para-table tennis men’s singles classes 3-5
Faith Obazuaye- Para-table tennis women’s singles classes 6-10
Mary Taiwo Osijo- Weightlifting women’s 87kg
Islamiyat Yusuf- Weightlifting women’s 64kg
Edidiong Umoafia- Weightlifting men’s 67kg
Ogbonna John- Wrestling men’s freestyle 74kg
Esther Kolawole- Wrestling women’s freestyle 62kg
Udodi Onwuzurike, Favour Ashe, Alaba Akintola and Raymond Ekevwo- Men’s 4x100m relay.
Despite finishing second place on Africa’s medal table and 9th on the Commonwealth Games medal table this year, South Africa ranks at number 6 on the all-time medal table with a total of 416 medals of which 137 are gold, 132 silver and 147 bronze medals making her the African Country with the highest number of medals in the history of the game.
The Nigerian team settled at 7th place on the Commonwealth Games medal table finishing as the best-ranked African country in the games.
Thirty-five times they made it to the podium and twelve times, the world stood still as the country’s Green White Green, National Flag was hoisted and the National Anthem recited.
The country indeed lived up to its reputation as the giant of Africa and we hope that they continue to make the continent proud.
Following closely on the list is South Africa who made her debut since the inception of the game in 1930. The country has competed in all but 8 of the 22 Commonwealth Games which have been held; from the original Games in 1930 to 1958, and then from 1994 onwards.
With this year being their 14th appearance in the games, the country clinched a total of 27 medals of which 7 were gold, 9 silver and 11 bronze medals.
SOUTH AFRICA
Gold Medalist
Lara van Niekerk- Swimming Women’s 50m breaststroke
Pieter Coetze- Swimming Men’s 100m backstroke
Tatjana Schoenmaker- Swimming Women’s 200m breast-stroke
Michaela Whitebooi- Women’s judo 48 kg
Lara van Niekerk- Swimming Women’s 100m breaststroke
Ndodomzi Jonathan Ntutu- Men’s 100m race
South Africa National Rugby sevens team- Men’s tournament
SOUTH AFRICA Silver Medalist
Chad le Clos- Swimming Men’s 200m butterfly
Pieter Coetze- Swimming Men’s 50m backstroke
Erin Gallagher- Swimming Women’s 50m butterfly
Tatjana Schoenmaker- Swimming Women’s 100m breast-stroke
Akani Simbine- Men’s 100m race
Charl du Toit- Men’s 100m(T38) race
Nicolaas de Lange- Wrestling Men’s 97kg
Daryl Impey- Cycling Men’s road race
Johanna Snyman, Esme Kruger, Bridget Calitz and Thabelo Muvhango- Lawn bowls Women’s fours
SOUTH AFRICA Bronze Medalist
Kaylene Corbett- Swimming Women’s 200m breaststroke
Caitlin Rooskrantz- Gymnastics Uneven bars
Charne Griesel- Judo Women’s 52 kg
Christian Sadie- Swimming Men’s 50m freestyle S7
Pieter Coetze- Swimming Men’s 200m backstroke
Candice Lill- Cycling Women’s cross-country
Desiree Levin and Victoria van der Merwe- Lawn bowls Women’s pairs B6-8
Jovan van Vuuren- Men’s long jump
Phiwokuhle Mnguni- Boxing Women’s 57kg
Simnikiwe Bongco- Boxing- Men’s 75kg
Zenéy van der Walt- Women’s 400m hurdles
Occupying the third position on Africa’s medal table and 13th place on the Commonwealth Games medal table is Kenya with 21 medals, of which 6 are gold, 5 silver and 10 bronze medals. All medals were raked in by the athletics and para-athletics categories except Helen Wawira Kariuki’s bronze win in the Para Power-lifting category. This reasserted the notion of Kenyan athletes being famous for their endurance in the marathon and long-distance races.
Kenya holds 8th place, one step ahead of Nigeria on the all-time medal table with a total of 258 medals. In case you’re wondering how that is possible with Nigeria’s total of 271 medals, that’s because Kenya has 9 more gold medals than Nigeria which earned her a spot ahead of Nigeria’s 9th place on the Games all-time medal table.
KENYA Gold Medalist
Ferdinand Omurwa- Men’s 100m
Jackline Chepkoech- Women’s 3000m steeplechase
Abraham Kibiwot- Men’s 3000m steeplechase
Mary Moraa- Women’s 800m race
Wycliffe Kinyama- Men’s 800m race
Beatrice Chebet- Women’s 5000m
KENYA Silver Medalist
Margaret Wangari Muriuki- Women’s marathon
Daniel Simiu Ebenyo- Men’s 10,000m
Irene Cheptai- Women’s 10,000m
Timothy Cheruiyot- Men’s 1500m
Nicholas Kimeli- Men’s 5000m
Next on the list is Uganda, holding 4th place on Africa’s medal table with a total of 5 medals of which 3 are gold and 2 bronze medals.
Of notable mention is Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo who won the 5000m to bag a second gold medal at the games having won a 10,000m gold also in the game.
Kiplimo raced to the finish line with a stellar kick in 13:8.08s to take the gold for Uganda making it his season’s best time running over that (5000m) distance.
Uganda came in 16th place on the Commonwealth Games medal table and 17th place on the all-time medal table with an impressive total of 60 medals of which 19 are gold, 16 silver and 25 bronze.
UGANDA Gold Medalist
Victor Kiplangat- Men’s marathon
Jacob Kiplimo- Men’s 10,000m
Jacob Kiplimo- Men’s 5000m
UGANDA Silver Medalist
Peruth Chemutai- Women’s 3000m steeplechase
Teddy Nakimuli- Boxing Women’s Light Flyweight
The 2022 Commonwealth Games being the team’s 7th appearance after making their debut in 1998, Cameroon had a praiseworthy outing winning one medal each in the three medal categories compared to the last edition at Gold Coast Australia where the country didn’t win any gold medal. Junior Ngadja Nyabeyeu made his team proud by securing a gold medal in weightlifting.
Cameroon occupied the 20th position on the Commonwealth Games medal table and 21st place on the all-time medal table with a total of 40 medals of which 11 are gold, 12 silver and 17 bronze medals.
CAMEROON Gold Medalist
Junior Ngadja Nyabeyeu- Weightlifting Men’s 109kg
CAMEROON Silver Medalist
Arlette Mawe Fokoa- Women’s shot put (F57)
CAMEROON Bronze Medalist
Berthe Etane Ngolle- Wrestling Women’s freestyle 62kg
Cohabiting with Cameroon in the 20th position on the Commonwealth Games medal table is Zambia who also ended the tournament with a medal each in the three medal categories. 19-year-old Muzala Samukonga was the country’s sensation as he won the country’s only gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022.
Zambia is ranked 26th on the all-time medal table with a total of 42 medals of which 5 are gold, 13 silver and 24 bronze medals.
I believe you can tell why Zambia ranks below Cameroon despite having more medals in total given the explanation between Nigeria and Kenya above.
ZAMBIA Gold Medalist
Muzala Samukonga- Men’s 400m
ZAMBIA Silver Medalist
Stephen Zimba- Boxing Men’s Welterweight
ZAMBIA Bronze Medalist
Patrick Chinyemba- Boxing Men’s Flyweight
Mauritius finished 27th place on the Commonwealth Games medal table and is ranked 43rd on the all-time medal table with a total of 18 medals which consists of 1 gold, 9 silver and 8 bronze medals.
MAURITIUS Silver Medalist
Roilya Ranaivosoa- Weightlifting Women’s 49 kg
Remi Feuillet- Judo Men’s 90kg
Richarno Colin- Boxing Men’s light welterweight shot put (F57)
Team Ghana also improved on their previous record of 1 bronze in the Gold Coast, Australia edition with a total of 5 medals.
This consists of 2 silvers and 3 bronze which earned them 8th place on Africa’s medal table.
Although occupying the 28th position on the Commonwealth Games medal table, Ghana is ranked 18th place on the all-time medal table with an impressive total of 63 medals which consists of 15 gold, 20 silver and 28 bronze medals.
Alphonce Simbu- Men’s marathon
GHANA Silver Medalist
Roilya Ranaivosoa- Weightlifting Women’s 49 kg
Remi Feuillet- Judo Men’s 90kg
Richarno Colin- Boxing Men’s light welterweight shot put (F57)
GHANA Bronze Medalist
Christianne Legentil- Judo Women’s -57kg
Sebastien Perrinne- Judo Men’s +100kg
Compared to the 2018 edition where the team was unable to secure any medal, team Mozambique earned 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal in the 2022 edition which also marks their 7th appearance in the game.
This was made possible, thanks to the team’s brilliant performance in the boxing category.
Mozambique finished 30th place on the Commonwealth Games medal table and is ranked 38th place on the all-time medal table with a total of 9 medals which consists of 2 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals.
MOZAMBIQUE Silver Medalist
Tiago Munxanga- Boxing Men’s Light Middleweight
Rady Gramane- Boxing Women’s Middleweight
MOZAMBIQUE Bronze Medalist
Alcinda Panguane- Boxing Women’s Light Middleweight
Another team that did put up a fight to nullify a zero medal record in the last edition is Tanzania who were able to rake in 3 medals in this edition. The team finished 10th place on Africa’s medal table with 1 silver and 2 bronze medals.
Tanzania came in 32nd place on the Commonwealth Games medal table in this edition but is ranked 25th place on the all-time medal table with a total of 24 medals which consists of 6 gold, 7 silver and 11 bronze medals.
TANZANIA Silver Medalist
Alphonce Simbu- Men’s marathon
TANZANIA Bronze Medalist
Kassim Mbundwike- Boxing Men’s Light Middleweight
Yusuf Changalawe- Boxing Men’s light heavyweight
Botswana came in 11th place on Africa’s medal table and 33rd place on the Commonwealth Games medal table with 2 medals. 1 silver and 1 bronze in the athletics and boxing categories respectively.
Botswana is ranked 28th place on the all-time medal table with a total of 19 medals which consists of 5 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze medals.
BOTSWANA Silver Medalist
Lungo Scotch, Zibane Ngozi, Bayapo Ndori, and Anthony Pesela- Men’s 4x400m relay
BOTSWANA Bronze Medalist
Lethabo Modukanele- Boxing Women’s Minimumweight
Coming in second to the last place on Africa’s medal table, Gambia finished 35th place on the Commonwealth Games medal table with judoka Faye Njie as her only medalist. The country secured her second Commonwealth Games medal, the first being a bronze medal at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games and the recent, her first Commonwealth Games silver medal.
The Gambia ranks 56th place on the all-medal table above 8 non-African teams.
THE GAMBIA Silver Medalist
Faye Njie- Judo Men’s 73 kg
Last but not least on Africa’s medal table is team Namibia who despite securing 4 medals in the games came up at the rear because all the medals won were bronze. Namibia finished 39th place on the Commonwealth Games medal table.
Despite coming up at the rear on Africa’s medal table, Namibia is ranked 29th place on the all-time medal table with a total of 24 medals which consists of 5 gold, 4 silver and 15 bronze medals.
NAMIBIA Bronze Medalist
Helalia Johannes- Women’s marathon
Alex Miller- Cycling Men’s cross-country
Ananias Shikongo- Men’s 100m T12
Christine Mboma- Women’s 200m race
There is no doubt that the continent performed brilliantly and remarkably so in the concluded 2022 Commonwealth Games. It’s safe to infer that the best is yet to come from the continent’s contingents.
The Games have also shown that African countries must work towards developing their sports, and sports culture and also invest heavily in their facilities and funding to encourage athletes(experienced and aspiring alike) to stay and proudly represent their countries.
African athletes are no doubt talented but they need adequate facilities at their disposal to compete with top talents around the world. Talent without training will eventually be subdued.
Honing one’s skill is a prerequisite to becoming grounded in that skill and becoming better at that skill. This also pertains to sports. Adequate training and preparation sets an athlete up for outstanding performance(s) in the field. Besides, It’s high time Africa started spreading her wings to categories where they are underrepresented as there are more sports and sports categories awaiting them for the taking.
Taking it up to speak on behalf of the continent, we look forward to a more terrific performance from all African teams at the next edition of the Commonwealth Games which is set to be held in Australia by 2026 albeit in a decentralized way.
They are scheduled to be hosted across four cities in the State of Victoria, Australia. The new intakes, Gabon and Togo will make their debut in the 2026 Commonwealth Games by putting forward their teams to participate in the games. We wish them the best of luck. Don’t we?
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Extraordinary! That’s the word that best describes the performance of certain African countries in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and like we would always say, a win for one is a win for all. The 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games officially known as XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly called ‘Birmingham 2022’ after the host city- …
