…As weightlifting president, lauds FG on preparations
Joel Ajayi
Ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games to be held in Paris, France Capital starting next month, Nigeria weightlifters have started intense camping, hoping to conquer the world.
The duo of Lawal Rafiatu Folashade and Eze Joy Ọgbonne are Nigeria’s weightlifting flagbearers at the Olympics.
Lawal and Eze are the only two weightlifters who qualified for the Olympics following the International Weightlifting Federation, IWF May 2024 Olympic Qualification Rankings released last week.
Lawal, 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 Africa Games gold medalist qualified for the Olympics in the 59kg women’s category after she was ranked 8th with a total of 227kg.
Eze, 2023 Africa Games gold medalist, on her part, was ranked 9th in the 71kg women’s category with a total of 239kg.
Nigeria could have had three lifters at Paris but Edidiong Umoafia who won three gold medals at the African Games in Accra, had a total of 319kg in the 73kg men’s category was ranked 24th.
In the ranking released by IWF, only athletes who are ranked between 1 and 10 qualified for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation, NWF, under the able leadership of Dr Ibrahim Abdul is leaving no stones unturned in ensuring that the weightlifters made Nigerians proud at the Olympics.
The federation, shortly after the athletes returned from Africa Games in March, encamped them in Abuja where they have been training since April 24, 2024.
NWF President, Dr Ibrahim Abdul told journalists in Abuja on Monday, while announcing the Federal Government’s general camping for all Olympic athletes, which the federation started camping ahead of time in order to keep the athletes in shape.
