The Nigerian contingent in Tunisia began their campaign at the 2023 Senior Africa Weightlifting Championship by winning six medals on Monday.
2022 Commonwealth Gold medalist Lawal Rufiatu grabbed headlines as she lifted 95kilos in snatch, 122kilos in Clean & Jerk and 217kilos in total to win all the three gold medals in the category to finish the day with three gold medals in the 59 kilometre women category.
World champion and 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Olarinoye Adenike Adijat followed her closely with a lift of 93kilos in snatch,118kilos in Clean & Jerk and 211kilos in total as she continued her impressive performances in the new category to win all three silver medals while a Tunisian duo and one Moroccan took all three bronze medals.
Team Nigeria will continue her quest to win more medals inon Tuesday, May 16, as two lifters will be on stage as well. Joy Eze, (71kg women) and Edidiong Umofia (73kh men) will be in action while Nigeria’s fifth athlete, Akano Desmond (89kg men) will conclude Nigeria’s participation in the championship on Wednesday, May 17.
The team will now hope to build on their early success as their hopes of qualifying into the 2024 Olympic Games is dependent on their performance at the Weightlifting Championship in Tunisia.
