Josephine Orji totally outclassed other contenders for the gold medal in the women’s +86kg powerlifting event of the Paralympic Games currently going on in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She set a new world record on the way to claiming an eight gold medal for Nigeria.
Josephine, who opted to begin on a high by lifting above 150kg, wound things up on her third attempt when she surpassed the previous world record and attained a lift of 154kg. The chasing pack never really stood a chance- Poland’s Marzena Zeiba took silver by lifting 134kg, and Melaica Tuinfort claimed bronze with a lift of 130kg. The fourth attempt by Josephine widened the gap between her and the other competitors, but the resulting mark of 160kg did not officially count. Her previous attainment was enough to erase the old world record, one she had set herself.
The gold won by Josephine provided a fitting conclusion to what has been a successful outing for Nigeria’s athletes at the powerlifting event of the Paralympics. The medal helped Nigeria retain her place as the highest ranked African team on the games’ medals table.