Team Nigeria yesterday toppled Tunisia on Africa’s medal haul at the ongoing Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Brazil after Lauritta Onye and Ndidi Nwosu claimed gold medals.
Prior to Monday’s feat by Onye and Nwosu, Tunisia was leading the continent’s medal haul with four gold medals but Nigeria overtook the North Africa with Onye setting a new world record in the women’s shot put F40 of athletic event.
It was Onye fourth throw of 8.40 metre that set a new world record for her ahead of Tunisia’s Rima Abdelli (7.37m) and Netherlands’ Lara Baars (7.12m) that both claimed silver and bronze medals respectively. Onye first throw of 7.83m had erased her own world record of 7.72m set at the 2015 IPC world athletics championships in Doha but the Nigerian went further to set the best record in the history of the event.
Also, Nwosu claimed the fifth gold medal for Nigeria when she lifted 140kg in the women’s -73kg of the Powerlifting event.
The first bronze medal for Nigeria was won by Nnamdi Innocent in the men’s -72kg of Powerlifting.
Apart from the medal won in athletics by Onye, all the medals won by Team Nigeria came from Powerlifting with hope for more medals in the event.
So far, Team Nigeria is placing nine on the medal table with five gold, two silver and one bronze medals, while China is topping with 40gold, 31silver and 24 bronze medals.