The three-day African Weightlifting Championships in Mauritius saw the Egyptians outclass their opponents in a show of strength in the sport after five athletes claimed three gold medals each in his and her own weight category. It started with Egypt's Olympic bronze medalist of the 2016 Rio Games Mohamed Ihab, who claimed three gold medals in the 85kg. Ihab topped the snatch and the clean with a total of 357kgs. At 167kg it was his heaviest snatch in the championship. His clean and jerk was 190kg. Ihab, the gold medalist of his weight category at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June, made sure to inspire Mauritius grassroots and young weightlifters when he joined the host country's officials on a visit to a weightlifting school in Mauritius in the company of Minister of Youth and Sport Toussaint Mahmoud Mahgoub, president of the Egyptian Weightlifting Federation and president of the Mauritius Federation. “It's a real honour for the Mauritius Amateur Weightlifters & Powerlifters Association and to the sport of weightlifting on the island. This will be a great morale booster for the sport and kids playing it. The weightlifting federation thanks you Ihab for the visit,” a statement published on the Facebook page of the event, said. Teammate Ragab Abdel-Hai, fifth at the 2016 Rio Games, also bagged three gold medals in the 90kg, while Dina Barakat took three gold medals in the same women's weight category. Fourth place finisher in Rio Shaimaa Khalaf also added three gold medals in the +90kg weight category. Khalaf was also the gold medalist of the Islamic Solidarity Games and was the highlight of the event with her remarkable score. “I am glad to win three gold medals at this African championship, but I would feel happier if I had set a new record for my weight category,” Khalaf said. Ahmed Abdel-Aziz rounded out Egypt's victories when he snagged three gold medals in the +105kg with a total of 235kgs in the clean and jerk. Egypt's Sports Minister Khaled Abdel-Aziz congratulated the five athletes on their performance and outstanding results. The African Weightlifting Championships marked the 27th edition of the men's and the 16th for women.
