Nigeria’s Weightlifter, Edidiong Umoafia delivered two more silver medals to shore up the country’s medals haul to eight as the African Senior Weightlifting Championship in Egypt entered Day Two on Tuesday.
Edidiong who boosted Nigeria’s quest for more medals and a place in Paris Olympics in July competed in the 73kg men’s category where he got a silver medal in the snatch with a lift of 144kg before securing another silver medal in the total lift of 314kg.
He narrowly missed a third medal in the clean and jerk despite lifting 170kg.
Edidiong had won a silver and two bronze medals at the Tunisia 2023 edition despite competing with injury. It was an improvement on his last year’s participation.
Nigeria’s participation in the championship will be rounded off on Wednesday when Joy Ogbonne Eze competes in the 71kg women’s category.
The country’s contingent are striving to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris, France with Rafiat Lawal, Adijat Olarinoye, Umuofia Edidiong and Joy Eze in pole position to hoist Nigeria’s flag at the Games.
Recall that the duo of Rafiatu Folashade Lawal and Adijat Adenike Olarinoye on Monday won three gold and three silver medals each at the championship to open the first day of hostilities with six medals for Nigeria at the 2024 Africa Senior Weightlifting Championship in Egypt.
Competing in the 59kg women’s category, Lawal and Adijat dominated the category as they carted away the top prizes in on Day 1 of the Championship which also serves as Paris 2024 Olympics qualifier.
Lawal, gold medal winner in Tunisia last year, established her superiority in the category as she once again claimed all the available three gold medals.
She won the first gold in with a lift of 95kg in snatch, claimed another gold in clean and jerk with 119kg before winning her third gold medal in total with 214kg.
Adijat on her part, followed suit on her previous year’s outing as she claimed, once again, all the three silver medals with 94kg in snatch, 115kg in clean and jerk and 209kg in total.
Tunde Liadi,
Deputy Media Officer,
Nigeria Weightlifting Federation.
