Egypt Tops Day 5 of Powerlifting World Championships

Two athletes from Egypt each took first place in their respective events on day five of the 2010 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Powerlifting World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Hany Abdelhady (EGY) took first in the Men’s 90kg with his best lift of 235kg. Abdelhady was followed by Greece’s Pavlos Mamalos and Iran’s Ali Sadeghzadehsalma respectively. Both having a best lift of 210kg, Jose de Jesus (MEX) and Vadim Rakitine (RUS) took the following two positions.

In the Women’s 82.5kg category, Hassan Geehan (EGY) took first with her best lift of 130kg. Coming in second and third were Huda Ali (IRQ) with 117.5kg and Sahar El-Gnemi (LBA) with 97.5kg.

For the Women’s 75kg category, Chinese Taipei’s TzuHui Lin took first with 140kg, followed by Egypt’s Randa Mahmoud and Ukraine’s Lyubov Semenyuk. Mahmoud was also first among her junior competitors in the event. In the Men’s 100kg category, China’s Pingguang Tian took first with his best lift of 220kg, which also gave him the new World record for juniors. Coming in second and third were Moatsem Ahmed (LBA) and Elshan Huseynov (AZE).

Competitions will continue through 30 July at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium Titiwangsa, with athletes using their performances to measure their international standing. Athletes will also be competing to prepare for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were Powerlifting will be part of the Summer Games programme.

Held just after the World Championships on 31 July, many of those participating in the event will be at the 2010 IPC Powerlifting Sport Forum. The forum will be an opportunity for all those involved in the Paralympic Sport to provide feedback and expert information on its future.

Powerlifting for athletes with a disability made its first appearance in 1964 at the second Paralympic Games in Tokyo as ‘Weightlifting’. Only men with spinal injuries participated with slightly different rules than are used today. Later it changed from ‘Weightlifting’ to ‘Powerlifting’ and now the competition is open to all athletes with cerebral palsy, spinal injuries, amputees (lower limb amputees only) and les autres who meet minimal disability criteria. Women competed in this sport for the first time in Sydney in 2000.