Mariam Usman fails in weightlifting

MARYAM Usman’s selection as the only weightlifter to represent Nigeria at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games was embroiled in controversy and her performance at the weekend in Rio has confirmed the reservation about the decision by the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF) to choose her ahead of youthful Oluwatoyin Adesanmi.

Competing in the women’s +75kg, Usman was nowhere the medal zone as she finished 9th in the event held at the Riocentro – Pavilion 2 in Rio.

In the snatch event, she only managed to lift 115kg and in her two attempts to lift 120kg failed while in the clean and jerk, she lifted 145kg and 150kg, but her efforts to lift 152kg failed as she managed an overall lift of 265kg.

Adesanmi with her gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

In Rio, it was China’s Meng Suping with an overall lift of 307kg that claimed the gold medal in the women’s +75kg, while the silver and medals were claimed by North Korea’s Kim Kuk Hyang and United States’ Robles Sarah Elizabeth with 306kg and 286kg respectively.

Prior to the Rio Olympic Games, findings by NationSport showed that Adesanmi is Nigeria’s best weightlifter in the world who stands a better chance of making it to the podium in Brazil.

From the results obtained at the 2015 World Championship in United States, Usman finished 15 overall in the women’s +75kg with a cumulative lift of 260 compared to 333 lifted by Russia’s Tatiana Kashirina while Adesanmi with cumulative lift of 218 to the best cumulative of 259 lifted by China’s Wei Deng.