Recently updated on October 24th, 2022 at 02:16 pm
Bose Omolayo and Folashade Oluwafemiayo have set new world records in the up to 79kg and 86kg categories winning gold at the 2021 Powerlifting Championship in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The 2021 World Para Powerlifting Championships was a powerlifting competition for athletes with a disability. It was held in Tbilisi, Georgia from 27 November to 5 December, 2021.
The tournament was one of the compulsory tournaments to qualify for the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France.
Team Nigeria won a total of six (6) medals: three gold; one silver and two bronze.
Bose Omolayo drove to victory with a lift of 144kg and set a new world record in the women’s up to 79kg category.
It was a head-on clash for gold between China and Nigeria. As the reigning world champion, Han Miaoyu of China was determined to stay top but, in the end, no one could match the high standard set by Omolayo.
The Nigerian had been brushing closer and closer to the world record throughout the championships and after securing gold with her third-round lift of 142kg, Omolayo went 2kg further to set a new African and world’s best mark.
“I’ve got power,” said an ecstatic Omolayo following her victory. “I’m very happy… It’s not easy to push weights. It’s not easy to beat the world record”.
Having failed her final lift, Han accepted third place with a score of 131kg, leaving Vera Muratova of the RPC to claim silver (136kg).
It was another incredible performance by Folashade Oluwafemiayo who was crowned with a third world title and a new world record on December 3, 2021.
Folashade Oluwafemiayo lifted 152.5kg in the women’s up to 86kg ‘power lift’ to break the world record and improve on her previous World Record of 125kg.
Her dominance was such that from her first lift of 140kg, she was already guaranteed the gold medal.
In the women’s up to 73kg, Khalifa Almaruf got on the podium for Nigeria, clinching Bronze with her attempt of 138kg.
Captain of Team Nigeria to Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Lucy Ejike had claimed gold medal following her victory in the 67kg events in the early hours of Wednesday.
