Paralympics · Careers
How to build a career in Paralympic sport in Nigeria
There is ability in disability: how Nigeria's para champions were made, how sport classes work, the support available and careers around the Paralympics.
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Careers in para sport
Your road to the Paralympic Games
Nigeria is one of the great Paralympic nations. Since Barcelona 1992 its para athletes have won 87 Paralympic medals, 42 of them gold, more than three times the country's Olympic total. At Paris 2024, when the Olympic team came home without a medal, Nigeria's Paralympians won seven.
This page is for young people living with a disability, their parents, teachers and coaches, and for anyone who wants to work in para sport. It explains how para athletes are found and grouped into sport classes, why para powerlifting is Nigeria's strongest sport, how athletes are funded, the anti-doping rules that apply to everyone, and the careers around the Paralympic movement. Every fact was checked on 1 October 2026.
The honest truth: para sport in Nigeria has produced world champions, but most para athletes are not paid a salary. They rely on government grants, rewards for medals and jobs outside sport. Many of Nigeria's champions also built careers beyond the platform, and so can you.
Career facts · Checked 1 October 2026
Nigerian para sport in numbers
-
87
Paralympic medals
42 gold, 22 silver and 23 bronze since 1992.
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7
Medals at Paris 2024
Including world-record gold for Onyinyechi Mark.
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150 kg
Mark's world record
Her Paralympic gold lift at Paris 2024, 61 kg class.
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23
Sports at LA 2028
The Paralympic Games run from 15 to 27 August 2028.
The pathway at a glance
Six stages from first try to the Paralympics
Para athletes start at every age, often later than other athletes. It is never too late to begin.
Any age
Try sport and get active
Join a school, community or disability sports programme. Lagos has learn-to-swim sessions for visually impaired children.
Age 12 and up
Find your sport
Para powerlifting, para athletics, para table tennis and para badminton have all won Paralympic medals for Nigeria.
Any age
Join a club and a state team
A coach and a club connect you to your state sports council and to the Nigeria Paralympic Committee.
When competing
Get your sport class
Para athletes compete in sport classes, such as T12, F54 or SL3, so that people with similar impairments compete together.
Senior level
National team and world events
World championships, Commonwealth Games and African competitions build the record that leads to the Paralympics.
Games year
Paralympic Games
Los Angeles 2028 runs from 15 to 27 August 2028, with 23 sports, including para climbing for the first time.
Step by step
Seven steps to a career in para sport
Follow these in order, at your own pace.
Believe there is ability in disability
Nigeria's Paralympic story is full of athletes society once overlooked. Lucy Ejike, who uses a wheelchair after polio, won medals at six Paralympic Games from 2000 to 2020, including three golds. Lauritta Onye, born with achondroplasia, took up athletics in 2008 and won Paralympic shot put gold in a world record at Rio 2016. Your impairment does not decide your future in sport.
Try several sports, then specialise
Nigeria has won Paralympic medals in powerlifting, athletics, table tennis and badminton. At Tokyo 2020 Nigeria also sent a para rower, Kingsley Okoroafor Ijomah, who qualified for the men's single sculls by winning the 2019 African qualification regatta in Tunis. Ask your state sports council which para sports have coaches near you, and try more than one.
Find a coach and a club
A coach who understands para sport will plan your training safely and help you meet the right people. Contact your state sports council or the Nigeria Paralympic Committee (NPC), based at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, and ask for the federation or association that runs your sport.
Understand your sport class
Every para athlete competes in a sport class, so that the result depends on skill and training, not on the type of impairment. You will see the letters and numbers on every results list: Adekundo Adesoji, a visually impaired sprinter, won three golds in the T12 class in 2004; Flora Ugwunwa won javelin gold in the F54 class at Tokyo 2020; Mariam Eniola Bolaji won badminton bronze in SL3 at Paris 2024. Ask your coach and the NPC how and when you will be classified in your sport, and keep your medical records safe.
Build strength the powerlifting way
Para powerlifting is Nigeria's golden sport. Lifters compete in weight categories, and Nigeria's women in particular have ruled the world: Onyinyechi Mark, born in Umuahia in 2001, won world silver in 2021, world gold in 2023 and then Paralympic gold at Paris 2024 with a world record of 150 kg. Folashade Oluwafemiayo, born in Jos, won Paralympic gold at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 and a 175 kg world record at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Start with a coach, learn the technique first and add weight slowly.
Compete at Commonwealth and world level
Para sport has been part of the Commonwealth Games since 2002, and Nigeria leads the world in para powerlifting there. At Gold Coast 2018 Nigeria won all four para powerlifting golds. At Glasgow 2026 Nigeria's para golds came from Esther Nworgu, Folashade Oluwafemiayo, Riluwan Idris and discus thrower Goodness Nwachukwu, who set a world record. These events, and world championships, build the ranking and record you need for the Paralympics.
Stay clean and keep learning
Para athletes face the same anti-doping rules as Olympians. One positive test can end a career, as the anti-doping section below shows. Keep studying too: Lucy Ejike, a three-time Paralympic champion, now works as a sports administrator in Enugu State.
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Classification
Sport classes explained
Classification is the heart of para sport. It is how athletes with different impairments compete fairly. Here is what young athletes and parents need to know.
- Sport classes are written as codes. Different sports use different codes: Nigerian medallists have competed in classes such as T12 and F54 in athletics, SL3 in badminton and class 4 in table tennis, while powerlifters compete in body-weight categories.
- Your class matters as much as your training. It decides who you compete against, so ask early how it works in your sport and keep your medical records safe.
| Athlete | Sport | Class or category | Paralympic result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onyinyechi Mark | Powerlifting | 61 kg | Gold, Paris 2024, world record 150 kg |
| Folashade Oluwafemiayo | Powerlifting | +86 kg | Gold, Paris 2024, 167 kg |
| Flora Ugwunwa | Athletics, javelin | F54 | Gold, Tokyo 2020; silver, Paris 2024 |
| Mariam Eniola Bolaji | Badminton | SL3 | Bronze, Paris 2024 |
| Isau Ogunkunle | Table tennis | Class 4 | Bronze, Paris 2024 |
| Adekundo Adesoji | Athletics, sprints | T12 | Three golds, Athens 2004 |
Ask the Nigeria Paralympic Committee and your sport's federation about classification before your first major competition. Our Nigerian Paralympic medals page lists every gold medallist with their class.
Funding
Grants, rewards and making a living
Para athletes in Nigeria are not paid a salary for competing. These are the support and rewards we could verify.
| Support | What we could verify | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NSC training grants | Over ₦200 million shared by 26 athletes in February 2026 | Included powerlifting, para table tennis, para athletics and para badminton |
| Rewards for medals | London 2012 gold medallists were made Members of the Order of the Niger and given ₦5 million each by the government | Rewards are decided after each Games and are not guaranteed |
| Jobs and careers | Lucy Ejike works as a sports administrator in Enugu State | Education and a second career matter |
One story says a lot. Powerlifter Grace Anozie, paralysed by polio at the age of two, finished a university degree in accounting in 1998 but could not find a job, so she took up sport. She went on to win Paralympic bronze in 2004, silver in 2008 and gold in 2012. Sport can open doors, but keep your education and skills growing so that you have choices.
Stay clean
Anti-doping for para athletes
Para athletes are tested just like Olympians, and the rules are strict.
- Nigeria's National Anti-Doping Act, signed in 2025, created the Nigeria Anti-Doping Centre (NADC) to implement the World Anti-Doping Code. Its Technical Board was inaugurated on 3 July 2026 and promised education in schools, clubs and academies.
- London 2012 champion Ivory Nwokorie was banned from 19 April 2013 to 18 April 2015 and fined EUR 1,500 after testing positive for furosemide at a powerlifting competition.
- Many para athletes take regular medicines. If you need a medicine, ask your doctor and the Nigeria Anti-Doping Centre whether it is allowed before you compete.
Clean sport rules for para athletes
- Tell every doctor and pharmacist that you are a tested athlete.
- Check every medicine and supplement before you take it, and keep the receipt.
- Keep your medical records and prescriptions together and up to date.
- Never accept a drink, pill or injection you do not understand.
Beyond competing
Careers around para sport
The Paralympic movement needs many people besides athletes. These roles are open to anyone, with or without a disability:
| Career | How to start | Where it can lead |
|---|---|---|
| Para sport coach | Start with your sport's coaching courses through its federation, then learn adapted coaching from experienced para coaches. | State, national and Paralympic team coaching |
| Classifier | Medical and sports science professionals should ask the NPC and their sport's federation how classifiers are trained and appointed. | National and international classification panels |
| Physiotherapist or doctor | Study physiotherapy or medicine; physiotherapists register with the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria. | Team medical staff at major Games |
| Swim or sport instructor | Learn-to-swim and community programmes need trained instructors. In Lagos, Swim in 1 Day Africa teaches visually impaired children to swim. | Running your own inclusive programme |
| Administrator | Volunteer with the NPC, your state sports council or a club, and study sports management. | Federation and NPC roles, like Lucy Ejike in Enugu State |
Women in sport
Girls and women in para sport
Nigerian women have won most of the country's recent Paralympic golds. Every Nigerian gold at Paris 2024 and three of the four at Tokyo 2020 were won by women powerlifters, and Lucy Ejike carried Nigeria's flag at Rio 2016. If you are a girl or young woman living with a disability, the path is proven: find a coach, start lifting, throwing, running or playing, and aim high.
Advice from the stars
What Nigerian para sport leaders want you to know
Every quote below was checked word for word against the outlet named under it. We add one practical lesson to each.
Swimming in 1 Day is all about closing the gap and making it something that people living with disability can also enjoy
Emeka Chuks-NnadiFounder of Swim in 1 Day Africa, which teaches visually impaired children to swim in Lagos
Africanews, 8 May 2025The lesson: Inclusive programmes exist: ask, and keep asking, until you find one.
When we take care of our athletes, they will take care of the country by winning medals.
Bukola OlopadeDirector General, National Sports Commission, on grants that included para athletes
Sports247, 10 February 2026The lesson: Build a record so that you are considered for national grants.
Our athletes must remain clean and free from banned substances at all times.
Shehu DikkoChairman, National Sports Commission, on the Anti-Doping Act
Sports247, 2025The lesson: Check every medicine with care: the rules apply to every athlete.
Your first move
Where to start this week
You can take the first step this week:
- Ask your school, state sports council or a local club which para sports are available near you.
- Try at least two sports before you choose one.
- Find a coach who has worked with para athletes.
- Keep your medical records and prescriptions in one safe folder.
- Learn the basics of clean sport before your first competition.
- Keep going with your studies or training for a job.
- Parents, teachers and coaches: contact the Nigeria Paralympic Committee for official programmes.
The NPC's address and contacts are on our Contact the Nigeria Paralympic Committee page. Read about the champions who came before you on Nigerian Paralympians.
Keep exploring
Explore Nigeria at the Paralympics
Quick answers
Paralympic careers in Nigeria: your questions
How many Paralympic medals has Nigeria won?
87: 42 gold, 22 silver and 23 bronze, from Barcelona 1992 to Paris 2024. Most came in para powerlifting, and Rio 2016, with 8 golds, was Nigeria's best Games.
What is a sport class in para sport?
A group of athletes whose impairments affect their sport in a similar way, so that they compete fairly. Classes appear as codes such as T12 or F54 in athletics, SL3 in badminton and class 4 in table tennis, and each sport sets its own classes.
Which para sport is Nigeria best at?
Para powerlifting. Nigerian lifters such as Lucy Ejike, Onyinyechi Mark and Folashade Oluwafemiayo have won Paralympic golds and set world records, and Nigeria won all four para powerlifting golds at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Do Nigerian para athletes get paid?
Not a salary. Athletes are supported by National Sports Commission grants, such as over ₦200 million shared by 26 athletes in February 2026, by rewards after major Games and by jobs outside sport.
When are the next Paralympic Games?
Los Angeles 2028, from 15 to 27 August 2028, with 23 sports. Para climbing makes its Paralympic debut.
Who runs Paralympic sport in Nigeria?
The Nigeria Paralympic Committee, based at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, and a member of the International Paralympic Committee. Individual sports are run through their own federations and associations.
Can I work in para sport without being an athlete?
Yes. Para sport needs coaches, classifiers, physiotherapists, doctors, instructors and administrators. Start by volunteering with a club, your state sports council or the Nigeria Paralympic Committee.