Oluwafemiayo sets world record, wins silver

Nigeria’s Oluwafemiayo celebrates after winning silver in the women’s powerlifting event ...on Monday.
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Team Nigeria has continued to win medals at the London 2012 Paralympics as Folashade Oluwafemiayo and Victoria Nneji won silver and bronze medals respectively on Monday.

Oluwafemiayo broke the world record twice before setting a new one at 148kg to better Chinese Taoying Fu’s 147kg in the women’s powerlifting -75kg class.

Oluwafemiayo and Fu lifted 146kg in their third attempts respectively but the Chinese was awarded the gold medal because she weighed 2kg less than the Nigerian. Fu weighed 72.53kg, while Oluwafemiayo weighed 74.17kg. Tzu-Hui Lin of Chinese Taipei won the bronze medal with her 137kg lift.

Their fourth attempts where Fu lifted 147kg and Oluwafemiayo 148kg were not to determine the winner but to have a new world record in the category.

Nneji, who earlier in the day had a poor start in the women’s powerlifting -67.5kg class, attributed her failure to win gold to a shoulder injury she sustained during camping for the Games in Korea.

She lifted 125kg to finish behind France’s Souhad Ghazouani (gold) and China’s Yujiao Tan (silver). Ghazouani had lifted 146kg in her first attempt but failed to complement in the subsequent attempts, while Nneji was only able to lift 125kg in her third attempt.

“My bronze is like gold to me because I didn’t enter the competition very fit. The injury I sustained from the camp actually hindered me from making a better attempt,” Nneji, who lifted 132.5kg to win silver at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, said on Monday.

“I knew I was a medal prospect but I was not sure how I would end up in the competition because of the injury. I was not able to train very well due to the pain.”