Nigerian blind sambo champion Rukayat Taiwo Suleimon makes history for Africa

Rukayat Taiwo Suleimon won gold in the women’s 54kg category at the 2026 World Sambo Cup in Armenia, defeating Uzbekistan’s Charos Ortikova in the final. The 32-year-old became the first blind woman in the world to win gold at a major international tournament, in the competition’s first event to include women with visual impairments. After losing her sight to glaucoma in 2009, she went on to win more than 20 national medals in athletics before taking up judo and sambo. She is due to compete at the World Sambo Championships in Uzbekistan in November.