Two more Nigerian para-athletes made it onto the medal sheet on Saturday. Powerlifter Bose Omolayo added to Team Nigeria’s medal haul by winning the silver medal in the women’s 79-kilogram event at the Paralympic Games in Paris, while Flora Ugwunwa also won silver in the women’s javelin throw event.
Omolayo lifted 145kg to place second behind China’s Han Miaoyu, who lifted 154kg to win the gold medal and set a new world record.
Omolayo was the defending Paralympic champion, having won the gold medal in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, while Han is the current world champion.
She placed ahead of Egypt's Safaa Hassan, who lifted 139kg to finish third and win the event’s bronze medal.
Ugwunwa, who competed in the women’s F54 category of the athletics event, added to Nigeria's medal tally with a throw of 19.26 meters, securing second place in the competition.
Her second throw in the competition’s final, which was 19.26m, was her best. Her first throw was 18.00m, followed by 18.24m, with the fourth, fifth, and sixth attempts measuring 18.68m, 18.40m, and 17.50m, respectively.
Uzbekistan’s Nurkhon Kurbanova won the event's gold medal with a world record-setting throw of 21.12m, her best out of the mandatory six throws.
Kurbanova, who had earlier won the bronze medal in the women’s shot put F54, dominated the competition. She threw distances of 20.07m, 21.02m, 20.27m, 21.02m, and 20.98m in her first, second, third, fourth, and sixth throws, with the world record-setting 21.12m coming in her fifth throw.
Ugwunwa’s silver brought Team Nigeria’s medal count to one gold, two silvers, and two bronze medals, placing Nigeria 52nd in the overall standings.
The Games conclude on Sunday.
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