Olympics Qualifier: Nigeria Wins 6 More Medals In Africa Weightlifting Tourney

Olympics Qualifier: Nigeria Wins 6 More Medals In Africa Weightlifting Tourney 

Ibraheem Lateef

Nigeria weightlifters have continued to churn out impressive performances in their quest for Paris 2024 Olympics qualification, reports BSNSports.com.ng.

On Tuesday, two Nigerian weightlifters won six more medals at the ongoing 2023 Senior Africa Weightlifting Championship in Tunisia (which also serves as Olympics 2024 qualifiers), after Joy Eze Ogbonne won three silver and Edidiong Umofia won a silver and two bronze medals. 

Competing in the 71kg women's category, Joy Eze won three silver medals in Snatch, Clean & Jerk, and Total. 

Eze lifted a total of 227kg to settle for three silver medals narrowly behind the gold winner, Egyptian Neama. 

The 2022 National Sports Festival, NSF gold medalist lifted 102kilos in the snatch, 125kilos in Clean & Jerk, and 227kilos in Total to claim all the silver medals 

She finished second in the three events behind Egyptian Said Neama Said Fahmi who lifted a total of 229kg to win the three gold on offer while Ketty Lent of Mauritius finished third with three bronze medals with a combined lift of 197kg. 

On his part, 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze winner, Edidiong Umofia won silver in the 73kg men's snatch. He also won two bronze medals in the Clean & Jerk and Total. 

Edidiong who also won gold medals at the 2022 NSF, won silver with 142kilos, and won two bronze medals in Clean & Jerk and Total with a lift of 170kilos and 312kilos, respectively.

Nigeria has so far won a total of 12 medals at the ongoing Senior Africa Weightlifting Championship in Tunisia.

Recall that Lawal Rufiatu Folashade and Olarinoye Adenike Adijat began Nigeria's medal quest with 3 gold and 3 silver medals on Monday, in that order

The four lifters thus far have won 3 gold, 7 silver, and 2 bronze medals at the championship which also serves as the Olympics 2024 qualifiers. 

The Senior Africa Weightlifting Championship which got underway in Tunisia on Wednesday last week will be rounded off on Saturday, May 20. 

Nigeria will conclude her involvement in the championship on Wednesday. 

The Nigeria Weightlifting Federation, NWF sponsored five athletes to the championship.