Nigerian powerlifter Folashade Oluwafemiayo has become the first para-powerlifter to lift 167kg at the Paralympics.
She won a gold medal in the women’s over 86kg contest at the ongoing 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France on Sunday.
China’s Deng Xuemei lifted 155kg, winning the silver medal, while Egypt’s Nadia Ali, who lifted 145kg clinched the bronze medal.
The Minister of Sports, John Enoh, hailed Oluwafemiayo’s heroic performance, saying the female para-powerlifter demonstrated “great skill, determination and an excellent spirit.”
“Our very own Folashade Oluwafemiayo has delivered an outstanding performance at the Paralympics. She achieved something no other woman has done in powerlifting at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France.
“Folashade not only set a Paralympics record by lifting 167kg, but she also set an Elite World Record. She served as the Captain for Team Nigeria’s contingent at the Paris 2024 Paralympics Games, demonstrating great skill, determination and an excellent spirit.
“Let’s come together to congratulate and celebrate our champion for bringing pride to herself and our great nation, Nigeria,” he wrote on X.
Oluwafemiayo, 39, had won gold at the Paralympics Games in Tokyo, Japan in 2020. She also won gold medals in the World Championships in Mexico (2017); Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan (2019); Tbilisi, Georgia (2021); Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2023); and another gold medal at the Women’s Bench Press Heavyweight in Birmingham, England (2022).
Oluwafemiayo’s achievement brings Team Nigeria’s medal count to seven – two gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
