How Nigeria clinched 4 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze at Tokyo Paralympics

Nigeria won four gold, one silver and four bronze at the just concluded 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, giving them the 33rd position in the world and fourth position in Africa. ENIOLA OYEMOLADE discusses the excellent performances of the athletes.

Eleven athletes who dedicated their time and effort to their country, Nigeria, have won 10 medals which include four gold, one silver and four bronze at the just concluded 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

With this, Nigeria has gained the fourth position in Africa and 33rd in the world.

Latifat Tijani won the first gold medal for Nigeria in the female 45kg event.

Tijani made a top lift of 107kg to secure the top prize. She beat her previous record of 106kg at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio.

Tijani is a 39-year-old whose impairment is a result of the effects of polio. She began powerlifting in Ogun State in 2004.

She has worked as a hairdresser in Nigeria and styled the hair of one of her fellow competitors at the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

“I was in the toilet when I heard them (Emirati female Para powerlifters) complaining that they needed a hairdresser. I told them that I can help, and convinced them that I am a professional hairdresser. They were initially surprised and wondered how that could be possible.”

Bose Omolayo also won another gold medal at the powerlifting event for Team Nigeria at the Paralympics.

She clinched gold in style, setting a new Paralympics record of 141kg in the 79kg female category.

On how she started, the 32-year-old noted that she was also working as a hairdresser when powerlifting coach Feyisetan Are came into her shop and encouraged her to try the sport.

“I eventually decided to go. When I got there, I saw people like me lifting weights so I changed, got on the bench and gave it a try. I lifted the weight easily and another 40kg was added which I also lifted so I was surprised I was able to do that easily on my first day. But when I got home I had aches all over my body. However, I didn’t stop going so that was how I started full training.”

In 2012, she then decided to focus on pursuing a Para powerlifting career. “I have been a hairdresser and it still continues to be my passion. I love fashion and can do several types of hair styles…I have done that all my life. But powerlifting gave a new meaning to my life. People recognise me back home and want to be like me. This makes me proud.”

After her win, Omolayo noted that physically-challenged people need to take personal responsibility for their destiny.

Folashade Oluwafemiayo was the third to give Nigeria its gold medal at the Olympics by surpassing her previous world record of 150.5kg to win the women’s -86kg with a lift of 152kg. She made her first lift of 147kg, shattering the Paralympics record of 135kg. Her subsequent three attempts saw her lift (148kg, 151kg, and 152kg).

The 36-year-old who was pregnant during the London 2012 Olympic Games clinched silver medal there. She began powerlifting in 1999 in Plateau State.

In the women’s javelin throw, Flora Ugwunwa also won a gold medal, just before the Paralympics came to an end. She successfully retained her F54 Javelin title, winning gold with a throw of 19.39m.

She took up Para athletics in 2011 in Edo State because, according to her, she wanted to prove that there is ability in disability.

Loveline Obiji, who started powerlifting in 2006 in Imo State because of her passion for the game, clinched the first and only silver medal in the Paralympics in women’s +86g by lifting 147kg.

Obiji had won a gold medal in the 82.5kg category at the 2012 Paralympics Games in London. She was named Sportswoman of the Year at the 2015 Nigerian Sports Awards.

Lucy Ejike, 43-year-old, also won bronze at the Paralympics. She listed 130kg in her first attempt but lost the pole position to Amalia Perez of Mexico who lifted 131kg in her final attempt to improve on the 125 and 126kg first and second attempts. Ejike booked 135kg in her second and final chance but was flagged red by all three judges on both occasions.

She began powerlifting in 2000, after she saw some people with impairments doing Para powerlifting. She has paraplegia as a result of the effects of polio. She contracted the illness at age one.

Ejike has represented Nigeria at five consecutive Paralympics Games from 2000 in Sydney through to 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. She has won medals at each, three gold and two silver.

The duo of Tajudeen Agunbiade and Olufemi Alabi, who edged out the USA in the round of 16 and Montenegro in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, added one more bronze to the country’s pool at the Paralympics Games.

Agunbiade and Alabi represented Nigeria at the 2000 Summer Paralympics held in Sydney, Australia and they competed in table tennis. Agunbiade won a gold medal at the Men’s singles 9 event while Alabi won a bronze medal.

47-year-old Eucharia Iyiazi also won a bronze medal in the women’s seated shot put event with a season-best throw of 10.40 metres in the final of the event’s F57 class.

Lauritta Onye also won a bronze medal in the women’s F40 shot put event. Despite competing under very difficult conditions on the wet and slippery grounds of the stadium, she still threw 8.29 metres.

Onye took up athletics in 2007 in Lagos State after it was announced that the All-Africa Games would include events for athletes of short stature that year. The All-Africa Games cancelled its events for athletes of short stature in 2007, but she continued training and went on to win a silver medal at the 2011 All-Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique.

The 37-year-old was born with achondroplasia/short stature and her motto is “being a champion is not by height, size or beauty: it is by strength, smartness, determination, confidence and endurance. Without these five qualities, you can’t win.”

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