LOVELINE Obiji became the fourth Nigerian woman to claim gold at the Paralympic Games in Powerlifting after claiming victory in the -82.50kg competition.The African country now has 11 medals, including five gold, at London 2012 and all have come in the same sport at ExCeL.Obiji lifted 145kg with her opening attempt and that was enough to see Randa Mahmoud of Egypt into silver, although the 21-year-old had to nervously watch on as the Egyptian tried and failed to lift 145kg with her final attempt.China’s Xu Yanmei was in third for most of the competition, before Mexico’s Catalina Diaz Vilchis achieved 128kg with her last lift. But the Chinese athlete responded to lift just 1kg more to claim bronze.Obiji said: ‘I feel like I could shout, I’m so happy. It’s my birthday next Tuesday so it’s now a double celebration - I’m going to be celebrating all month.‘This is my first outing at the Paralympic Games. I started training in 2006, I love powerlifting, I love my game and I love sport.’China’s Xu Yanmei was in third for most of the competition, before Mexico’s Catalina Diaz Vilchis achieved 128kg with her last lift. But the Chinese athlete responded to lift just 1kg more to claim bronze.
