Nigeria reaffirmed its dominance in African wrestling as nine of its female wrestlers clinched gold medals at the 2025 African Championships in Casablanca, Morocco. The West African powerhouse topped the Women’s Wrestling category with a commanding 225 points, outpacing second-placed Algeria by 109 points. Algeria secured one gold medal in the 57kg category, which did not feature a Nigerian competitor. Egypt finished third with 115 points, while hosts Morocco came in fourth with 113 points.
On Saturday, May 3, Nigeria secured four gold medals through Christianah Ogunsanya (53kg), Esther Kolawole (62kg), Hannah Rueben (68kg), and Damola Ojo (76kg). The success continued on Sunday, May 4, with five more gold medals.
Mercy Genesis defended her 50kg title with an 11-0 victory over Algeria’s Cheima Chebila, marking her fourth win by technical superiority. Adijat Idris dominated Achouak Tekouk (ALG) in the 55kg final, winning 11-1, her fifth technical superiority win. Jumoke Adekoye, returning after a two-year hiatus, showed no signs of rust as she claimed the 55kg gold by defeating Rahma Bediwy (EGY) via fall after building a 10-0 lead.
Ebipatei Mughenbofa defended her 65kg title, overcoming a challenge from South Africa’s Cara Du Plessis to secure a fall victory. Ebi Biogos clinched the 72kg gold in a round-robin bracket, maintaining Nigeria’s perfect record with all nine participating wrestlers winning gold.
In other categories, Egypt won the Greco-Roman and Freestyle team titles, scoring 182 points in Freestyle to top the standings, followed by Morocco (110 points) and Algeria (105 points). Egypt’s standout performers included Omar Mourad (74kg), Aabdelrahman Sheyatan (97kg), Hassan Elsayad (61kg), and Ahmed Mahmoud (86kg).
Cameroon’s Cedric Abossolo delivered a stunning performance to win the 92kg gold, marking Cameroon’s first Freestyle gold at the African Championships since 1998. Abossolo defeated Nigeria’s Ebikeme Newlife via fall after building a 9-0 lead.
Morocco’s Oussama Assad won the 125kg gold, ending Egypt’s 11-year streak in the category. Diamantino Iuna Fafe of Guinea-Bissau completed a hat-trick of gold medals at 57kg with a thrilling 10-8 win over Algeria’s Salah Kateb.
Algeria’s Abdelkader Ikkal secured the 79kg gold with a 10-0 victory over Morocco’s Mohammed Bouazouni. Nigeria’s Stephen Izolo won the 65kg gold, the country’s first Freestyle gold at the African Championships in five years. Tunisia’s Khairiddine Ben Tlili claimed the 70kg gold with a 10-0 win over Egypt’s Mohamed Ahmed.