Egypt finished in second place out of 15 countries which took part in the Powerlifting African Championship held in Algiers, Algeria, from 10-12 August. The tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2019 World Championship in Kazakhstan. The participating countries were hosts Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt, Benin, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Libya, Uganda, Togo, Mali, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia and Cameroon. Egypt came in second after Nigeria which topped the standings with 11 gold and two silver medals followed by Egypt with eight gold, four silver and two bronze. Algeria came in third place with one gold, five silver and five bronze. Sherif Othman successfully defended the African title on the second day of the competition, lifting 206kg to comfortably win the men's under 59kg. Othman then tried to break his own world record of 211kg but failed to clear the bar at 211.5kg on his fourth attempt. Nevertheless, Osman extended his reign in the category as he is also the current Paralympic and world champion. Nigeria's Ibrahim Dauda (175kg) and Mali's Bakary Diallo (125kg) completed the podium. The Egyptian powerlifter is one of the best in the sport's history, having won three Paralympic golds and three world titles. Othman also holds the world record in two different categories: 205kg in the up to 54kg and 211kg in the up to 59kg. With the 2019 World Para Powerlifting African Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, approaching, the 35-year-old has set clear goals for himself. “I want to win the gold medal, qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and break my own world record again one more time. Nothing is impossible,” Osman said. Osman Fatma Omar gave Egypt the second gold of the day in the women's up to 67kg after lifting 135kg. She made an attempt to break Chinese Yujiao Tan's world record of 138.5kg but failed. Nigeria's Olaitan Ibrahim (120kg) ended second and Algeria's Naima Saidi (81kg) third. The other Egyptian gold medals came from Mohamed Al-Elfat in the up to 80kg after lifting 223kg, Hani Abdel-Hadi in the up to 88kg lifting 185kg, Tarek Wahdan in the over 97kg lifting 157kg, Mohamed Ahmed in the up to 107kg, lifting 219kg, Amr Mosaad in the over 107kg, lifting 220kg and Rehab Ahmed in the up to 50kg lifting 120kg. Three-time Paralympic champion Lucy Ejike did not disappoint and topped the podium in the women's up to 61kg thanks to a 131kg lift. The 40-year-old was followed by Egypt's Amal Mahmoud (108kg) and Gihan Abdel-Aziz (107kg). Nigeria's Paralympic and world champion Paul Kehinde (210kg) bounced back after losing gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, winning the men's up to 65kg. Algeria's Mexico City 2017 world's bronze medallist Hocine Bettir (187kg) and Egypt's Mahmoud Attia (177kg) completed the top three. Gehan Hassan snatched the silver of the up to 70kg by lifting 127kg, teammate Amani Ali took the silver of the up to 86kg lifting 122kg while Randa Mahmoud collected the silver of the over 86kg, lifting 138kg. Hayat Khattab, Egyptian Paralympic Committee president, said she was “very happy with the powerlifters' achievements as they raised Egypt's name up among African countries. I also advise them to prepare well for the coming World Championship to be able to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.”
