Ogunsanya, Kolawole Roll to African Championship Titles

Casablanca, Morocco–Christianah Ogunsanya (Fr., Akure, Nigeria, Kinesiology) and Esther Kolawole (Fr., Akure, Nigeria, Kinesiology) returned home and continued their domination as they recently claimed crowns at the 2025 African Wrestling Championships.

The freshmen, who both won NAIA national titles in March, had no equals as they cruised to a combined 8-0 record at the Championships. Competing for their home country of Nigeria, neither wrestler was scored upon during the freestyle event.

Ogunsanya posted a 3-0 record en route to her gold at the 53 KG weight class. She opened with a 10-0 technical fall of Chahrazed Ayachi (Tunisia) before also blanking Zineb Ech Chabki of Morocco via a 10-0 technical fall.

Ogunsanya’s championship was finally earned as she shut out Nogona Celine Josee Bakayoko of Ivory Coast by another 10-0 technical fall.

Kolawole trek to the 62 KG crown included five total trips to the mat, beginning with an 11-0 technical fall of Farah Ali Hamada Mohamed Hussein of Egypt.

She then moved past Sanaa Mandar (Morocco) by injury default before handling Saida Cheridi of Tunisia in a 10-0 technical fall.

In the semifinals, Kolawole took care of Safietou Goudiaby of Senegal in a 10-0 technical fall, leading to a rematch with Ali Hamada Mohamed Hussein in the gold match.

For the second time on the week, Kolawole kept her Egyptian foe scoreless, winning by a 10-0 technical fall.

Nigeria dominated the women’s freestyle competition, claiming gold in eight of the 10 weight classes.