Team Nigeria’s weightlifting contingent continued their medal chase at the ongoing 2022 Commonwealth Games as Islamiyat Yusuf clinched bronze in the women’s 64kg event to increase the country’s haul to two gold and two bronze medals in Birmingham.
Yusuf who was earlier in pole to settle for silver dropped down the pecking order after Australia’s Sarah Cochrane beat her to 100kg lift in the snatch event at the at the National Exhibition Centre.
The event won by the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gold medalist Canada’s Maude Charron who lifted 130kg in the clean and jerk to set a new Commonwealth Games record.
Her second runner up spot notwithstanding, Yusuf said that she was satisfied with the colour of her hard earned medal.
“I am partially satisfied with the bronze medal because I came here for gold,” she said. “But I am grateful to God for helping me to win bronze among the 12 lifters that competed in the event.
“ I just need to put more effort and hope that I can win gold at the Olympic Games(Paris 2024). ”
The 19-year-old said she has put behind her failure to lift the 97kg in the snatch event which cost her dear in the standing order in the women’s 64kg weightlifting event
“I believe it is a tactical error from my side for moving from 93kg to 97kg and when I failed to lift I felt sad,” she said.“ But this has come and gone because in training I used to lift more than ; and hopefully I can continue to train harder for future events.”
Yusuf’s bronze was Nigeria’s fourth medal in Birmingham 2022 after both Adijat Olarinoye and Rafiat Lawal claimed gold in their weightlifting events as well as Edidiong Umoafia who settled for bronze in his own weightlifting class.