Nigerian Athlete Sets New Record, Wins Gold at Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

• Nigerian powerlifter Onyinyechi Mark has set a new record at the ongoing Paris 2024 Paralympics
• Onyinyechi Mark lifted 145 kilograms in the 61kg weight category to win Nigeria's first gold medal
• She broke both the Paralympics and world record previously held by compatriot Lucy Ejike

Nigerian athlete Onyinyechi Mark has won the country's first gold at the ongoing Paris 2024 Paralympics, setting a tournament and world record in the process.

Mark is one of the best powerlifters in the world and lifted a record-breaking 147kg in the 61kg weight category to win the gold medal, Nigeria’s first at the tournament.

As noted by Making of Champions, she initially broke compatriot Lucy Ejike’s record by lifting 145kg and extended her record by lifting 147kg minutes later.

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Onyinyechi did not rest on her laurels and kept going for more, finally finishing the event by setting another record of 150kg, which means she set three world records in a day.

Mark fulfils Paris Games ambition

Her reaction after winning the gold said it all about what her achievement meant to her, lifting her hand up to the sky and screaming in a loud voice.

According to olympics.com, in August 2023, she set the target of winning gold at the Paralympics Games and to set three world records on her way to winning it is a massive feat.

She won the gold medal at the World Championship in 2023 after lifting 146kg, bettering her record from 2021, where she lifted 131 kg to win the silver medal.

The 23-year-old, who was born in Umuahia, Abia state, in South East Nigeria, was disqualified at the Paralympics events at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

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Oshoala dreams of Olympics in Africa

Legit.ng reported that Asisat Oshoala dreams of an Olympic tournament on African soil after watching the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games.

The continent has yet to host the event in its 128-year history, but the Bay FC striker believes the African culture will beautify the event after the controversies around the opening ceremony on the Seine River.

Source: Legit.ng