Twelve athletes shattered world records at the Nigeria Para-Powerlifting Open National Trials held at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, signalling a new wave of dominance in the sport.
The three-day event, which featured over 60 athletes from across the country, served as a platform to assess form and prepare for future international competitions.
Top performers included Folashade Oluwafemiayo of Delta, who lifted 160kg in the +86kg women’s category, smashing the previous record of 130kg. Tolulope Ogundolie (Edo), Christiana Adetolu (Ekiti), Rukayat Ajiboye (Delta), and Ifeoluwa Alake (Lagos) also exceeded existing global benchmarks in their categories.
On the men’s side, Thomas Kure (Delta) lifted 207kg in the 80kg category, while Mufutau Rasaq (Osun) and Yakubu Adesokan (Oyo) posted impressive lifts of 190kg and 152kg, respectively.
The Technical Director of the Nigeria Para-Powerlifting Federation, Ruel Ishaku, stressed the importance of consistent training camps:
“The more they train, the more chances of producing better results that will surpass world standards,” he said.
In addition to the record-breakers, several other lifters achieved podium-worthy results, reaffirming Nigeria’s strength in para-powerlifting on the global stage.