Four Nigerian students have won the Gold Award in the Middle School Group Category at the 2026 Spelling Bee World Cup in Shanghai, China — and they did it on the country’s very first appearance at the competition. The tournament ran from 10 to 20 July 2026, and Nigeria’s victory was confirmed by the Nigeria Spelling Bee on its official Facebook page on 19 July.
The squad earned their place in Shanghai by progressing through the Nigeria Spelling Bee and then the African Spelling Bee Championship held in Harare, Zimbabwe. It was a long road built on consistent performance, not luck, and the team arrived at the global stage having already proved themselves across the continent.
The four competitors were Oluwadamilola Adeolu of St. Lawrence Metropolitan College, Ado-Ekiti, the 2026 African Spelling Bee Junior champion; Abdurrahman Yusuf of Ar-Raheem International College, Ilorin; Chinedu Okediachi of Madonna International Schools, Asaba; and Maryam Yusuf, also of Ar-Raheem International College, Ilorin. Ar-Raheem International College confirmed on its own Facebook page that both Maryam and Abdurrahman returned home with medals.
How did they get here?
At the African Spelling Bee Championship in Harare, Adeolu won the Junior category outright, beating contestants from more than 30 African nations. Abdurrahman Yusuf finished third at the same event, while Nigeria placed second overall as a team. That continental showing set the platform for what followed in China.
Before travelling to Shanghai, Adeolu spoke plainly about her ambitions: she wanted to compete, meet spellers from around the world, sharpen her vocabulary and, in her own words, raise the trophy and bring it back home. She did exactly that.
The Nigeria Spelling Bee described the team’s journey as one of excellence and determination, noting that the students were carrying the flag not just for Nigeria but for the entire African continent. That framing now looks entirely justified. A first-ever appearance at a global competition ending in gold is not a modest result — it is a statement.