African para-athletes praise Commonwealth Games inclusivity

What the report says

BBC Sport Africa reports that leading African para-athletes at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games say the event’s integrated format is helping improve public attitudes toward disability across the continent. Unlike the Paralympics, para-sport at the Commonwealth Games is not staged as a separate competition: para and non-para events are held within the same Games, and medals count together on national tables. The approach began at Manchester 2002, and Glasgow 2026 includes a record 47 para events across six of the 10 sports on the reduced programme.

Ugandan swimmer Husnah Kukundakwe, Uganda’s team captain in Glasgow, told the BBC World Service that sport can drive change by showing that para-sport merits equal recognition and backing. Mauritian wheelchair racer Noemie Alphonse said visibility on television and support from home have helped people see para-athletes as contributors to national achievement. Ghanaian powerlifter Tahiru Haruna, who finished seventh in the heavyweight event, also described using sport to challenge stigma and encourage inclusion in schools.

The BBC report highlights several African medal ambitions and successes. Nigeria was dominant in para-powerlifting on the opening day, winning three golds and three silvers, while the image caption notes Esther Nworgu won Africa’s first gold of the Games in women’s lightweight para-powerlifting. Kukundakwe is aiming for Uganda’s first Commonwealth swimming medal, competing in the 100m freestyle S9 and 100m breaststroke SB8, while Alphonse is seeking her first Commonwealth medal in T54 wheelchair racing.

The Games were moved to Glasgow after Victoria, Australia, withdrew in 2023 over funding issues, leading to a slimmed-down schedule. Even so, athletes quoted by the BBC argue the inclusive model gives para-athletes a prominent platform that can influence funding, participation and perceptions at home.