Madias Ngake's journey to the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is a testament to resilience, spanning from seeking asylum in the UK to becoming a top-seeded athlete.
Born in Douala, Cameroon, Ngake harbored dreams of not only achieving personal success in weightlifting but also inspiring a shift in perceptions of female athletes in her homeland. Her talent was evident early on, as a teenager at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where she placed fourth.
Limited resources and reported corruption within Cameroonian sports federations made international competition a significant challenge. Ngake entered the London 2012 Olympic Games with a relatively low ranking, competing in the B Final. Despite this, she out-lifted many in the higher-ranked divisions, securing an overall sixth-place finish.
Following the Olympics, Ngake made the difficult decision to seek asylum in the UK. This period was marked by hardship, including sleeping outdoors and struggling with basic necessities, as she focused on making the UK her home. For nearly five years, she navigated the asylum process and gained the necessary paperwork to begin a new life. During this time, few were aware of her athletic background as she worked as an office cleaner for nine years in Leeds and later Nottingham.
Her connection to weightlifting resurfaced about four years ago. The decision by Durban to withdraw as hosts of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, with Birmingham stepping in, brought former teammates and coaches from Cameroon back into her orbit. One of her former coaches encouraged her to return to the sport. This encouragement led her back to the gym, where lifting a barbell felt natural and exciting.
Within a year of her return, Ngake won gold at the British International. The following year, she returned to the international stage, securing a silver medal in the snatch discipline at the 2024 World Championships, this time representing Great Britain. As a naturalised British athlete with proven international success, she became eligible for UK Sport funding, allowing her to transition from cleaning to full-time athletic training.
Her recent successes have also included European honors. Now, 16 years after her Commonwealth Games debut, Ngake heads into her second Commonwealth Games as the top seed in the women's 86kg division, representing England.
