Olympics Qualifier: Team Nigeria wins 6 medals at weightlifting championship in Egypt

Team Nigeria weightlifters, Rafiatu Folashade Lawal and Adijat Adenike Olarinoye on Monday won six medals at the ongoing 2024 Africa Senior Weightlifting Championship in Egypt.

Competing in the 59kg women’s category, Lawal and Adijat dominated the category as they carted away the top prizes on the first day of the championship which also serves as Paris 2024 Olympics qualifier.

Lawal, gold medal winner in Tunisia last year, established her superiority in the category as she once again claimed all the available three gold medals.

She won the first gold with a lift of 95kg in snatch, claimed another gold in clean and jerk with 119kg before winning her third gold medal in total, with 214kg.

Adijat on her part, followed suit on her previous year’s outing as she claimed all the three silver medals with 94kg in snatch, 115kg in clean and jerk and 209kg in total.

Meanwhile, Edidiong Umoafia Joseph will today at noon seek to consolidate Nigeria’s quest for more medals and a place in the Paris Olympics scheduled to begin in July, as he competes in the 73kg men’s category.

Umoafia won a silver and two bronze medals at the Tunisia 2023 edition in spite of him competing with injury.

Nigeria’s participation in the championship will be rounded off on Wednesday when Joy Eze Ogbonne competes in the 71kg women’s category.