Olympic champion, Yakubu Adesokan, has won a Para-powerlifting gold medal and in the process set a new world record with a lift of 182.5kg in the 49kg weight class on Tuesday at the ongoing 11th African Games in Brazzaville.
Adesokan lifted the 182.5 kg in his third attempt to win the gold medal. An Algerian settled for the silver medal in the event.
The Nigerian had set a World record at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London with a lift of 177 kg. A Vietnamese had erased that record with a lift of 181kg, before the latest world record by the Nigerian.
He had won silver medal at a recent Open Asia Championship held in Kazakhstan.
“I am excited, I can’t thank God enough for this, it is the result of hard work and focus,’’ he said after the lift.
“After the Asian championship at which I won silver medal, I gave myself a personal target of gold medal at the Africa Games, and with God, I have now been able to reach my target,” Adesokan said.
He said that his next target would be to win gold in the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games next year.
Adesokan, then, commended the National Sports Commission (NSC) for the preparation ahead of the Games. “I must thank my coach, Feyisetan Are, for believing in me and training me toward achieving this feat, he has been like a father to all us.
“I want to call on the NSC to allow us start the preparations for the 2016 Paralympic Games early, because with good preparation, the sky will be the limit for us; we have all what it takes to be world champions,” Adenekan said.
