Nigeria’s Rafiatu Lawal has won a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in women’s 59kg weightlifting category.
Lawal’s victory on Sunday means Nigeria now has two gold medals at the competition won by weightlifters.
Lawal created a new Commonwealth Games record by lifting a combined total of 206kg.
The 25-year-old won three gold medals for Nigeria at the 2019 African Games in Morocco.
Lawal, who set a new African record in the 59kg women’s snatch weightlifting event to win her first gold at the African Games, also won the other two events (regular and Clean-Jerk) in the category.
Lawal spoke with Premium Times at the time about how she felt on winning three gold medals in her debut appearance at the African Games.
“Of course I am very happy to win for my country, it was not easy but I am glad to have won in all my three events,” she said.
Lawal won the gold medal in women’s 59kg weightlifting at the 2021 African Weightlifting Championships held in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Nigerian qualified for the 2022 Commonwealth Games by virtue of her total result which got her a gold medal at the 2021 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships held in Uzbekistan.
Earlier on Sunday, Edidiong Umoafia clinched the bronze medal in the men’s 67kg weightlifting event to bag Nigeria’s second medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Umoafia lifted a combined 290kg to get on the podium.
Umoafia’s medal came a day after Adijat Olarinoye clinched gold to earn Nigeria the first medal at the competition.
The 23-year-old set a new Commonwealth Games record with a total of 203kg.
Currently, Nigeria jointly sits in seventh position with Malaysia on the medals table with two gold medals and one bronze.
