Nigerian weightlifter Lucy Ejike has shattered the Paralympic and world record three successive times by winning gold with a lift of 142kg at the Rio Games on Sunday.
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“It feels awesome. Coming through that last 250m I knew that we had won it, I knew no-one would come through us and the crowd really lifted us”.
It was Roland Ezuruike that started the gold medal haul when he won a gold medal in the men’s -54kg after Kehinde Tijani won Team Nigeria’s first medal with a silver medal in the women’s -45kg.
She gained a measure of revenge on Rivard, who beat her to gold in the 50m freestyle final on Friday.
Sweden’s Maja Reichard took silver in 30.76 and the Ukraine’s Maryna Piddubna shared bronze with Bruinsma after both hit the wall in 31.23.
“I want to call my dad but I know because of the time difference that he will be sleeping”.
Today’s win was achieved in a world record time of 2min 24s.
It was another victory for Team Nigeria as Bose Omolayo grabbed gold in the powerlifting event at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Muhammad Ziyad hurled the shot a distance of 16.84 metres to clinch the world record and the gold on his fifth attempt.
In the Women’s Class 1 Final between Ukraine’s Natalia Kosmina and Poland’s Krystyna Siemieniecka, it was the 33-year-old Ukrainian who overpowered the 2004 Paralympic Champion 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-5).
USA cyclist Joe Berenyi won his fourth Paralympic medal, in 3000-meter individual pursuit, earlier in the games and was once nominated for an ESPY, but has not been signed by a major sponsor. The Paralympics are in full swing and we’ve already seen a 15-year-old swimmer win gold and a former Team GB hand-cyclist crowned champion in a completely different sport. He will face South Korea’s Joo Young Dae on Tuesday.
Brazil made its Paralympics debut in 1972, and won its most total medals – 47 – in Beijing eight years ago.
In the bronze medal match, South Korea’s Kim Mi-Soon and Lee Ouk-Soo defeated Turkey’s Handan Biroglu and Bulent Korkmaz 138-128. China’s Yan Yang won the Bronze medal with a distant 128kg. IPC officials said the absence could be a form of political protest, which is banned in the Paralympics as it is in the Olympics. He also won gold in teams events at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Paralympics.
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“It’s unbelievable to do it on the same day, three golds and a bronze, it’s a real honour to be part of the best ParalympicsGB team I’ve been a part of”. The 26-year-old explained: “It feels fantastic”.
