Esther Onyema and Loveline Obiji completed a Commonwealth Games double for Team Nigeria in the women’s para-sport event on Day 10, clinching two powerlifting gold medals.
Both paralympians, named Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012, broke the world records in their respective categories to increase the country’s gold medal haul to 9 at the Clyde Auditorium on Saturday morning.
Obiji, 23, set a new women’s heavyweight powerlifting world record with a best lift of 144.0kg in her third attempt to amass a total of 122.4 points and win gold.
Team Kenya’s Joyce Wambui Njuguna, 38, won bronze.
32-year-old Onyema, whose disability is as a result of polio and weighed in at 48kg/105lbs, scored a total of 136.0 points to break the previous lightweight powerlifting world record (women’s -55kg category). She lifted 120kg, 125kg and 126kg in her first, second and third efforts respectively to claim gold.
England’s Natalie Blake clinched silver with her best and final lift of 95kg to score a total of 100.2 points, while India’s Sakina Khatun clinched bronze, scoring 88.2 points.
Nigeria have now won 30 medal’s (as at time of report); 9 gold 7 silver and 14 bronze medals and are ranked 8th on the medal standings.
