Josephine Orji on Wednesday won Team Nigeria’s eighth gold medal at the ongoing Rio Paralympics.
Orji smashed the existing record to clinch gold in the +86kg powerlifting event taking Nigeria’s medal haul to 11 and in the process, broke the world record in the women’s +86kg powerlifting at the Rio 2016 Paralympics.
The world champion, also known as ‘Precious’ had won gold at the 2015 Asian Open with a new world record of 153kg, with very few women in the category coming close to lifting that amount of weight.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian had an impeccable performance that she established a big gap with her closest challengers. Poland’s Marzena Zieba finished second with a mark of 134kg while Netherlands’ Melaica Tuinfort took bronze lifting her best mark of 130kg.
Zieba, by her lift of 132kg in February had showed her potential ahead of the Rio Paralympics.
The field also included Egypt’s world silver medallist Nadia Ali, who lifted 141kg at a World Cup event in Dubai in February this year. The Egyptian however placed a distant sixth on Wednesday.
“It’s pure determination,” said Orji.
“I came here to win for Team Nigeria, the record is an added incentive, something to cheer for me, my coaches and the entire Team Nigeria,’’ she said.
