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Ngake was born in Douala, Cameroon’s largest city, about 200 miles west of the country’s capital, Yaounde.
Having isolated herself from the idea of her homeland for more than a decade, she refuses to reflect too much on that time, but it is clear that childhood “challenged”, brought more and more challenges. It’s clear that she’s got a talent for sports, especially weightlifting.
Ngake dreamed not only of personal success but of profound change. It aims to influence a change in attitudes around women’s sports by showcasing the power of strong women in Cameroon.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the then 18-year-old gave a glimpse of that potential. She finished fourth, tied with India’s bronze medalist Laishram Devi, but missed out on a podium place as she weighed more than her competitor.
Not that it was an immediate concern. Ngake left the competition on a stretcher after a successful 121kg lift. Her first result at the Commonwealth ended in disappointment, but there was still plenty to be proud of.
“No one can qualify for the Commonwealth Games,” she smiles. “You mean you’re strong and can I say special?”
With limited resources, and not understood by the widely reported corruption scandals in various international federations in Cameroon, attending international tournaments has been extremely challenging.
As a result, she entered London 2012 at a relatively low level, meaning she was placed in the B final, where other athletes were thought to have no real chance of a medal.
However, not only did she win the B final, but she also lifted more than most in the ‘Professional’ category to finish sixth overall. It was a “remarkable” achievement long before the results and rankings were revised.
However, he did not have time to celebrate that success. She needs to act fast.
Exactly how the situation happened is something that, even 14 years later, Ngake refuses to discuss, but she is clear about the impact of running away.
“When I decide to stay, I sometimes sleep on the bus, but when the bus stops (for the night) I sleep outside,” she shrugs. When I wanted to shower I had to find a place in front of people so it was not easy to change myself.
That period lasted two months before she officially applied for asylum and was granted temporary shelter while her case was reviewed.
Neither the Olympics nor any other sport was on her mind. The United Kingdom was solely focused on finding a way to make it home.
Few around the weightlifter knew of her true performance background, and few would have suspected the Olympian had settled into a low-key existence.
It was almost five years before she was able to get the right paperwork to land a permanent paid job. It meant starting from the bottom, but she was happy to have the opportunity to build.
“At first I was an office cleaner and yes, that was my full-time job for nine years,” says the now 34-year-old. I was in Leeds then I moved to Nottingham.
All that time, she didn’t think about her favorite sport.
But that changed four years ago.
Durban was stripped of the right to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games after failing to meet key standards or provide financial guarantees, with Birmingham stepping in.
This means Ngake’s former teammates and coaches from Cameroon will return to the UK and for the first time in a decade she will let her mind focus on weightlifting.
“One of my coaches was still with the team, traveling to Birmingham 2022 and after coming to stay with me he pushed me to start again,” she said.
“I stopped everything, but he encouraged me and when I lifted the bar again, yes, it felt very natural, it felt right and that was really fun.”
The following year she won gold at the British Internationals and within 12 months, not only was she back on the international stage, but she was also the first silver medalist in the discipline for Great Britain at the 2024 World Championships.
As a National Athlete, with the potential to win a medal in a major event, she now qualifies for UK Sport funding, which soon arrived, allowing Ngake to give up her cleaning job and focus on being a full-time athlete.
She entered her second Commonwealth Games on the back of a European record, becoming the top seed in the women’s 86kg category, 16 years after her debut in India.
