Madias Ngake lifted a 128kg barbell above her head to win a silver medal in the women's 87kg weightlifting competition at the Commonwealth Games, capping one of the most remarkable stories of the event. The 34-year-old Team England athlete fled the London 2012 Olympic village after finishing sixth while competing for Cameroon, where homosexuality is illegal, and ended up sleeping rough for a month.
From homelessness to the podium
Ngake left Cameroon due to laws against homosexuality, which led to her being outed by a team member. After the 2012 Games, she boarded a bus and eventually slept at a bus stop for about a month. 'Nobody looked after me,' she said. 'I had to leave because someone on the team knew about my situation, that I am a lesbian.'
She gave up elite sport for over a decade, returning in 2023 and transferring allegiance to Britain a year later. She worked as an office cleaner in Leeds for nine years, earning about £2,000 annually, until 2017 when she legally obtained the right to work.
Competition highlights
Ngake led the women's 87kg competition after the snatch with a powerful 108kg lift, 3kg ahead of Australia's Eileen Cikamatana. However, Cikamatana responded in the clean and jerk with a 140kg lift, achieving a combined 245kg—a new Games record—to take gold by 6kg. Rose Beaudoin of Canada won bronze.
Despite missing gold, Ngake was not disappointed. 'Yes,' she replied when asked if her life was like a movie. 'And I never believed I would ever be here.'
A second medal in sight
Ngake's hair was dyed red, the colour of Cameroon, on the suggestion of Team GB double Olympic medallist Emily Campbell. She now trains full-time in Nottingham and aims for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Remarkably, she already holds an Olympic bronze from London 2012, awarded in 2019 after three weightlifters ahead of her were disqualified for doping. However, the medal was sent to Cameroon, and she has never seen it. 'I would like to have it, yes,' she said. 'But I don't think it's going to be possible because the medal is in Cameroon and there is a situation and I don't want to do politics.'
