Nigerian weightlifters have arrived in Egypt for the 2024 Africa Senior Weightlifting Championship.
The contingent which comprises four lifters and four officials arrived in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday.
Ismaila will host the Championship which will start on Sunday (today) with the opening ceremony.
The Championship which will serve as the qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games will end on February 11.
Three of the lifters are women with one man.
In the 59kg women’s category, Rafiatu Folashade Lawal and Adijat Adenike Olarinoye will compete among other African Stars while Joy Ogbonne Eze will compete in the 71kg women’s category
Umoafia Edidiong Joseph will compete in the 73kg men’s category.
The four officials with the athletes include three coaches – Janet Ali, Abdulsalam Kayode, and Onubaye Sefiat, while Iquaibom Lawrence is a referee.
Nigeria will begin her competition at the championship on Tuesday, 6th February when 2023 gold medalist Rafiatu Lawal and the silver medalist, Adijat Olarinoye will compete in the 59kg women’s category by 12 noon local time, respectively.
Same day, Umoafia Edidiong will take part in the 73kg men’s category from 3pm
Joy Eze will conclude Nigeria’s participation in the championship on Wednesday, February 7, when she challenges the rest of African lifters in the 71kg women’s category by 10am.
It could be recalled that in the previous edition of the Championship held in Tunisia in May last year, Nigeria won 12 medals, comprising three gold, seven silver, and two bronze.
The Nigeria weightlifters will participate in another Olympic Games qualifier next month when the International Weightlifting Federation, IWF World Cup holds from 31 March to 11 April 2024 in Phuket, Thailand.
After the last qualifier the list of athletes who qualified for the 2024 Paris Games would be released through IWF World Rankings.
