Mariam Usman’s dream of becoming only the second Nigerian to win an Olympic medal in Weightlifting was truncated on Sunday after she finished 9th in the women’s +75kg category at the Riocentro – Pavilion 2 in Rio.
This is Usman’s third outing at the Olympics, having competed in Beijing 2008 where she finished 5th, and London 2012 where she didn’t make a podium placement. The Commonwealth Champion lifted a total weight of 265kg on Sunday, and had only one valid attempt out of three in the Snatch.
Usman’s only successful attempt was the 155kg, failing at two attempts at 120kg. She made two successful attempts in the Clean and Jerk, lifting 145kg and 150kg respectively. However, she failed on her third attempt, which was for 152kg.
The event was won by China’s Suping Meng who amassed a total of 307kg, with Kuk Hyang Kim of the People Republic of Korea (PRK) following with 306kg. USA’s Sarah Elizabeth Robles claimed Bronze with a total of 286kg.
Ruth Ogbeifo won Nigeria’s first and only Weightlifting medal in Sydney 2000 where she claimed Silver.
