Powerlifting at the 2024 Summer Paralympics

Powerlifting at the 2024 Summer Paralympics

On the men’s side, Sherif Osman is the athlete to watch. The Egyptian powerlifter has competed in four Summer Paralympic Games, winning three gold medals and one silver. In the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, Osman set a world record with a 202.5 kg lift, surpassing that mark with 205 kg at the 2010 World Championship, and again in Rio 2016 with a 211 kg lift to secure another gold. After taking silver in the men’s 59kg category in Tokyo, Osman issued a bold statement to his rivals: “Paris 2024 will be the final showdown. I promise to win gold and set a new world record.” A sport that has evolved Para powerlifting has been part of the Paralympic Games since 1984, when it debuted in New York. Initially called weightlifting, it was originally open only to male athletes with spinal cord injuries. Over time, the sport expanded to include other impairment groups. All eligible Para powerlifting athletes have impairments affecting their lower limbs or hips, but they compete in ten weight categories per gender. The sport maintains a fifty-fifty gender balance in terms of athlete participation and medals awarded. Readmore: