How Adesokan won Nigeria's first gold in the Paralympics

By Olamide Jasanya

Nigerian representative in the ongoing Paralympics game, Yakubu Adesokan has secured a double victory breaking a world record to win a gold medal for the country.

The 33-year-old Ibadan –born athlete came tops in the men’s 48kg category by lifiting the 180kg which is four times more than his body weight. ‘I feel overjoyed. I went through a lot of training. I have been training for two months in Korea. Once I went through that training, there was no way I was going to fail. I can definitely lift more. It is a lot but what I usually lift in training is more than this, like 192kg’, he said.

Adesokan was followed by Vladimir Balynetc from Russia and Taha Abelmagid from Egypt who came second and third with a lift of 170kg and 165kg respectively.

The game began on Wednesday, August 29, 2012 and will end on Sunday, September 9, 2012.