French Athlete Breaks World Record at Powerlifting Champs

Souhad Ghazouani (FRA) broke the World record for seniors and took the gold in the Women’s 60kg category on the fourth day at the 2010 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Powerlifting World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

With an impressive best lift of 135kg on 29 July, Ghazouani was followed by Mexico’s Amalia Perez Vazquez and Egypt’s Amal Mahmoud Hanafy Osman respectively. Coming in fourth was China’s Jianjin Cui with a best lift of 117.50kg, giving her the first place among the junior competitors.

In the Men’s 75kg category, Iran’s Majid Farzin took first with his best lift of 217.50kg. Farzin was followed by Jordan’s Mutaz Zakaria Daoud Aljuneidi and Egypt’s Abdelkalik Abdelkalik respectively. Coming in fourth was Iran’s Seyedhamed Solhipourounji, who also took first among his junior competitors.

For the Women’s 67.50kg category, Egypt’s Amany Ali took first with her best lift of 117.50kg. Amany was followed by Thailand’s Arawan Bootpo and China’s Zhiping Wang respectively. Egypt was also on top in the Men’s 82.5kg event, with Metwaly Methana and Mohamed Mamdouh El Dib taking first and second positions. China’s Xiao Fei Gu took third in the seniors and first in the juniors with his best lift of 215kg, which also gives him the new World record for juniors.

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.