Goodness Nwachukwu sets F42 discus world record 39.66m in Glasgow; two-time Commonwealth Games champion
Commonwealth Games 2026: Para athletics world record holder Goodness Nwachukwu - “There is an ability in disability”
Commonwealth Games 2026: Para athletics world record holder Goodness Nwachukwu - “There is ability in disability”
Reflecting on yet another historic performance at the Commonwealth Games, Nigeria’s Nwachukwu takes Olympics.com through a tense final throw, explaining what she’s learned from para athletics in an exclusive interview.
When Nigeria’s Goodness Nwachukwu stepped into the discus ring at the Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow on Wednesday (29 July) evening, she knew she needed a helping hand to ensure the crowd witnessed a throw worthy of the price of admission at the 2026 Commonwealth Games .
“Before I entered [the ring], I looked up and spoke to God,” she recalled during an exclusive interview with Olympics.com. “I said, ‘God, the hour has come. Come and make a way for me.’”
Feeling the weight of expectations as reigning champion in the women’s discus throw F42-44
F61-64, she struggled to produce a throw that met her own lofty ambitions.
Two no-throws at the start of the competition left the 27-year-old Paralympian wondering if she’d even leave the Commonwealth Games with a medal this time around, but a “safety” throw in the third round brought some much-needed relief as she moved into provisional third.
While she took the lead outright with a 33.12m effort in the fourth round, Nwachukwu still felt as though she was at risk of leaving something truly special unrealised in Glasgow.
“I was like, ‘ah, what is happening Goodness? Even your warm-up throw was better’,” she stated, taking Olympics.com through her inner dialogue ahead of the sixth round. “[I told myself:] ‘You can do it. Just put yourself together, calm down.’”
And so, with a mighty heave, she sent the discus flying across the field. Crashing down to Earth at 39.66m, it signified a new world record in the F42 classification. Better yet, it marked the second edition in a row that she had broken her own world record to win Commonwealth gold .
“The emotion was too high for me, more than the last [edition],” she explained, recalling a recent family bereavement. “I dedicated [my medal] to my late daddy and I will celebrate it with my mum. Because my mum can’t wait, she has been there praying for me.”
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Gold medallist Goodness Nwachukwu (NGR) poses for a photo with her World Record winning distance at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
What para athletics has taught Nwachukwu
Nwachukwu didn’t wake up one morning, chuck the discus further than any F42 thrower ever had and suddenly become a two-time Commonwealth Games champion overnight. It took years of hard work, financial sacrifice and unwavering determination to reach the podium.
“I have faced many challenges, especially with training and finances,” she told Commonwealth Sport in March . “The journey from my home to the training ground takes over an hour, and sometimes I get stuck in traffic. That is why I wake up as early as 4am to make it on time.
“Financially, it has not been easy either. I need more support and sponsorships to attend competitions,” she added. “And as a physically challenged athlete, I have fallen many times while training. Thankfully, I have never been badly injured.”
So why has she continued to train and compete in para athletics? Because the sport has taught her many valuable lessons.
“It made me know that there is an ability in disability , that I should not relent,” she explained to Olympics.com .
“It inspired me, coming out [and] seeing my fellow disabled, physically challenged people. It encouraged me, and it gives me hope that there’s still hope.”
Para athletes have competed alongside able-bodied athletes in the same sessions at the Commonwealth Games, something Nwachukwu endorses. “I like us being together because it encourages us,” she noted. “It shows that togetherness. We are all one and we are the same.”
The same, and yet the Nigerian is different in her own record-breaking way.
Not just anyone can break their own world record to win gold at back-to-back editions of the Commonwealth Games. Only one athlete has proven capable of that at Birmingham 2022 and Glasgow 2026, and her name is Goodness Nwachukwu.
By Matt Nelsen Grace Goulding
23 July - 2 August
Commonwealth Games 2026 | Glasgow | United Kingdom