Nigeria increased her medal haul at the on-going Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan with a Gold and a Silver in Powerlifting yesterday.
Folashade Oluwafemiayo won Team Nigeria’s third gold medal of the Games, winning the Women’s 86kg gold medal and beat her own world record twice on the final day of Para powerlifting at Tokyo 2020 in the Tokyo International Forum.
Oluwafemiayo registered a competition-winning third lift of 151kg, before using a fourth and final power lift to set a new world mark of 152kg.
China’s Zheng Feifei, a two-time silver medallist at the World Championships and gold medallist at the Asian Para Games in 2018, took the silver medal with Great Britain’s Louise Sugden claiming the bronze.
“I feel very, very great,” Oluwafemiayo said after her record win. “I thank god, because it was God all this way. Not by my own power, but by the power of God. He was giving me grace, and I gave him the admiration for standing right behind me. I’ve been asking for this from God, and he gave it to me.”
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The 35 year-old Plateau-born lifter also thanked Nigerians for their support and urged the Federal Government to look into the welfare for special needs athletes.
“I want to thank all the Nigerians out there that are my fans for their support,” she said. “I promise to continue to make the country proud.”
“My message to Nigerians is to keep on supporting us,” She added. “My message to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is that he should please look at the issues of we physically challenged athletes and to the honourable Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, he should keep to his promises as he has promised us a lot.”
Meanwhile, Obiji Loveline won Team Nigeria’s first silver medal of the Games, lifting 147kg in the +86kg category.
China’s Deng Xuemei lifted 153kg for the gold while Poland’s Marzena Zieba won bronze with a 140 kg-lift in her second attempt.
Nigeria now has three gold, one silver and two bronze medals after Day Eight of competition.
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