The Douala native has been making headlines since 2014. Gold medalist at the last African Games in March 2024, he is at the top of his art. Despite difficult working conditions, he succeeds in honoring Cameroon internationally and dreams of an Olympic medal.
Intelligent, energetic, athletic, all the actions of Ngadja Nyabeyeu Junior Périclès constitute a spectacle during a weightlifting competition. He masters at his fingertips all the techniques of victory, namely the shoulder throw and the snatch. The shoulder jerk is a movement which consists of lifting the bar, placing it on the collarbones before passing it above the head. The snatch consists of taking the bar from the ground and passing it directly above the head without transition. Indeed, among the weightlifting athletes who made a good impression at the last 2024 African Games in Accra is his name. He honored Cameroon in the 109 kg category, winning 03 medals alone including 02 gold out of the 03 gleaned in total by Cameroon and one silver.
Ngadja Nyabeyeu Junior Périclès
Junior is a young Cameroonian from the Western region, more precisely in Ndé. He was born on June 16, 1993 in Douala in the coastal region where he spent his adolescence. Single, he lived in the Bepanda and Deido districts, two working-class neighborhoods in the country's economic metropolis. He comes from a modest family and his parents are not the decision-makers in Douala or Ndé.
His late father, whose memory he continues to salute and regrets the absence of during the competitions in which he takes part, was originally from the West. Father of several children, he settled in Douala in search of the best living conditions. It was in the middle of this modest family that Junior Ngadja Nyabeyeu, African weightlifting champion, grew up. When he was a child, he ran behind a football like the other children. As a family, his morning task is to draw water before going to school. He likes this exercise which has become habitual. Moreover, he stood out for his way of giving himself to this daily task: “I had a particular way of drawing water. I went to the well with three buckets. I place one of 20 liters on the head, and two containers of 20 liters for each hand. I climbed the hills and stairs before arriving home. This aroused the admiration and gaze of everyone. I was lucky because God was gracious to me by giving me physical strength. My older sister, when she saw my physical abilities, she took me to her friend who directly admitted me to his center to learn weightlifting,” says Junior Ngadja Nyabeyeu, African weightlifting champion .
School and academic career
The double gold medalist at the 13th African Games is admitted to New Deido public school in Douala. A young schoolboy with acceptable behavior, Junior held a Primary School Certificate a few years later. Under the guidance of his parents, he joined a private college at the Grand Moulin in Douala, the adventure of which was culminated by obtaining his baccalaureate. He enrolled at the University where a year later his passion for weightlifting took over his studies. He devotes his time to performance work.
The professional
The professional adventure began in 2014 at the national games. He came out of this competition as a gold medalist and participated in the 2016 edition of the same competition and suffered an injury but achieved the feat of a bronze medal. He participates in several other competitions locally. In 2018 he took part in the African championship and was invited to Egypt. In these two countries he returned with a silver and a bronze medal respectively..
The moments of glory
From then on he is present at all African competitions. In 2019 he was a gold medalist at the African championship zone 02 in Kenya, zone 03 in Antananarivo in Madagascar. Also in 2019 he competed in the African championship and won 05 bronze medals. In 2020, he is expected in Iran during an international competition, as well as at the Islamic Solidarity Games. He returned from these two competitions with 02 bronze medals. Then won gold in 2021 at the Commonwealth Championship paired with the World Championship in Uzbekistan. At the world championship he ranks 10th in the under 109 kg category, but is making considerable progress in terms of his performance. 2024 he is African champion and double gold medalist at the 2024 African Games in Accra.
As a reminder, Junior Ngadja Nyabeyeu is African weightlifting champion. He has several other laurels to his credit and is best in the 109 kg category. It allowed Cameroon to occupy 17th place in the general ranking at the last 2024 African Games in Ghana despite the difficult working conditions it faces on a daily basis. He dreams of crossing borders in search of the best working conditions to increase his performance.
J.Patrick DJON.
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