Latifat Tijani has won Nigeria’s first gold medal at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympic Games. She won the gold on Thursday in women’s 45kg powerlifting. Tijani defeated China’s Zhe Cui to lift 107kg.
Latifat Tijani was gold medalist at the Brazzaville 2015 Africa Games and silver medalist at the Rio 2016 Paralympics; who will also be in the women’s 45kg straight gold medal contest same day.
However, Nigeria’s Yakubu Adesokan missed out on a podium placement in men’s 49kg Powerlifting.
Adesokan was a London 2012 Paralympic and 2014 World Para Powerlifting Championships gold medalist.
He finished fourth with his best lift of 155kg in an attempt to snatch Bronze from Azerbaijan’s Parvin Mammadov who lifted 156kg.
The Ogun state Nigeria born athlete, came back strong with burning enthusiasm to write her name in gold with her second attempt of 105kg; and her third attempt was 107kg but she did that in a style with 117kg in her fourth attempt getting close to world record of 118kg to lift the first medal for team Nigeria in Tokyo.
The feat by Tijani is an improvement on her previous record of 106kg at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio.
She also won the bronze medal in the women’s 45 kg event at the 2019 World Para Powerlifting Championships.
