Bright Brains Inter-House Sports Breaks New Ground on Weightlifting

By Amaechi Agbo

The campaign for the introduction of weightlifting in secondary school inter-house sports competitions received a major boost after the successful inclusion of the sport at the 2026 Inter-House Sports of Bright Brains Preparatory and Montessori School in Benin City, Edo State.
The colourful event, held on Thursday, March 12, 2026, featured weightlifting for the first time among the competing sports, thanks to the initiative of the school’s Proprietress, Mrs Faith Abudu, a former international weightlifter and respected referee and coach in Nigerian weightlifting circles.
Abudu, who once represented Nigeria on the international stage, believes introducing weightlifting at the secondary school level will help discover and nurture talents early while providing young athletes with opportunities to develop their sporting careers.
A former Secretary of the Nigeria Weightlifting Referees Council, Abudu currently serves as a coach and Technical official with the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation. Her wealth of experience in the sport has strengthened her conviction that grassroots development is the key to Nigeria’s future success in weightlifting.
Abudu herself was discovered at a young age when she was introduced to weightlifting at just 13 years old. That early exposure shaped her career and opened doors to international recognition.
She went on to represent Nigeria at the IWF World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand in 1997, where she gave a commendable performance. Two years later, she reached the peak of her competitive career at the 1999 African Games in South Africa, then known as the All Africa Games, where she competed under her maiden name, Faith Okuonghae. At the said continental showpiece, she delivered an outstanding performance by winning three gold medals in the women’s 63kg category, firmly establishing herself as one of Nigeria’s top weightlifters of her era.