Women's -50 kg - IPC Powerlifting World Championships

Russia’s Oleysa Lafina smashed her own world record three times, eventually lifting more than two and a half times her own bodyweight, to be the star performer on the third day of the IPC Powerlifting World Championships in Dubai, UAE, on Monday (7 April).

In the women’s -50kg category, the 34-year old started with a 112kg first round lift, but progressed up to 117kg and 122kg through the rounds to seal the win and smash her previous best of 114kg, set last May when she won the European title.

With gold secured, the London 2012 silver medallist then lifted 126kg in the fourth round to steal the show and add 12kg to the record that had stood at the start of the day.

The battle for the remaining medals was a close fought affair which eventually saw Ukraine’s Lidiia Soloviova (105kg) take silver and Egypt’s Gihan Abdelaziz (101kg) the bronze.

Going into the final round, Abdelaziz - who had broken the African record with 101kg - held a slender 1kg lead over her rival. The 39-year-old failed to lift 105kg in the final round however opening the door for two-time Paralympic champion Soloviova who successfully managed the same weight.

Lafina’s 19-year-old teammate Anastasia Kondrashina (72kg) won the junior gold, followed onto the podium by Iraq’s Zahraa Al Maliki (68kg) and UAE’s Maryam Alzeyoudi for the host nation’s first medal of the competition.

The 2014 IPC Powerlifting World Championships have featured over 330 athletes from nearly 60 countries and were the first opportunity for athletes to begin qualification for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The competition also featured the climax to the "Raise the Bar campaign," which has seen powerlifters and team officials take part in education seminars as part of efforts to reduce doping in the sport.

For more information about the 2014 IPC Powerlifting World Championships, please visit the Dubai 2014 microsite: http://www.paralympic.org/dubai-2014

Athletes:

CMR Mimozette Nghamsi Fotie

EGY Gihan Abdelaziz

ESP Loida Zabala Ollero

IRQ Zahraa Al Maliki

JPN Hiromi Kobayashi

MAR Khadija Benkrara

MEX Miriam Isela Aguilar Jimenez

MEX Rosaura Rodriguez Padilla

RUS Anastasia Kondrashina

RUS Olesya Lafina

TUR Yasemin Ceylan

UAE Maryam Alzeyoudi

UGA Vaster Kyalimpa

UKR Lidiia Soloviova

VEN Zuray Marcano

VIE Thi Linh Phuong Dang