Egyptian powerlifters win hat-trick of World Cup titles

Egyptian powerlifters dominated the third day of the World Para Powerlifting World Cup on Saturday (6 May) winning three out of the four titles up for grabs in Eger, Hungary.

Mohamed Elelfat, a 2014 world title winner, kicked off proceedings winning the men’s up to 80kg class. After opening with 190kg, the 37-year-old managed 200kg in the second round, before failing with 210kg in the third. The fight for second place was a thriller with Poland’s Poitr Szymeczek and Finland’s Harri Kauppila both successfully lifting 160kg and 168kg in the first two rounds. In the third, both lifters could not manage 171kg. The Polish lifter took second place on body weight, whilst the Finnish athlete had to settle for third.

The women’s up to 73kg class was won by Rehab Abougharbya who managed three successful lifts, starting with 105kg, progressing to 110kg in the second round and finishing with 115kg in the third. Second was Moldova’s Larisa Marinenkova after lifting 88kg in the final round and third was Poland’s Beata Jankowska, whose best lift was 83kg in the second round. Ireland’s Britney Arendse took the junior title with a 73kg lift.

Egypt’s third win of the day came in the men’s up to 88kg class courtesy of three-time Paralympic champion Metwaly Mathana. In a close contest, the 42-year-old finished with a third round lift of 207kg, just 1kg ahead of Brazil’s Evanio Da Silva who had to settle for second. Azerbaijan’s Nurlan Babajanov was third after managing 186kg.

Mongolia’s Rio 2016 bronze medallist Sodnompiljee Enkhbayar was victorious in the day’s final event, the men’s up to 97kg class. His best of 221kg, produced in the third round, was enough for him to secure Mongolia's first win in Eger. Iraq’s Thaer Al-Ali, a Beijing 2008 bronze medallist, was second with a best of 210kg in the second round. Third was Uzbekistan’s Nuriddin Davlatov who lifted 180kg in the second round.

Uzbekistan’s Farhod Umirzakov set a new junior world record in the class with a lift of 164kg.

The Eger 2017 World Para Powerlifting World Cup runs until 7 May and will be streamed live on World Para Powerlifting’s website.

All events can also be followed on social media (Facebook.com/parapowerlifting, @ParaPowerlifting on Instagram and @Powerlifting on Twitter).

The World Para Powerlifting Championships will take place in Mexico City from 30 September-6 October, with more than 360 powerlifters from 65 countries competing in the Juan de la Barrera Olympic Gymnasium.