Beijing 2008 Paralympic champion Cuijuan Xiao set China’s second world record at the 2015 IPC Powerlifting European Open Championships in Eger, Hungary, on Thursday (26 November).
Xiao, 29, broke the previous best of Nigerian world champion Esther Oyema by 1kg in the women’s up to 55kg. With the 126kg lift, Xiao claimed Open gold to add to her Asian title from July 2015.
Her closest competitor, Russian Tamara Podpalnaya, retained her European title with 113kg.
Ukrainian Mariana Shevchuk (106kg) left the competition delighted with a new junior world record and four medals, having secured the Junior and European gold, and senior European silver and Open bronze.
Great Britain’s Natalia Blake (90kg) completed the European podium with bronze.
In the women’s up to 61kg, Russia’s Irina Kazantseva won her inaugural European and Open titles with three good lifts leading to a final 110kg push.
Poland’s Malgorzata Halas-Korazewska (99kg) finished with silver, followed by Turkey’s Hafize Bingul (97kg).
Xiaofei Gu continued a great day for China with Open gold in the men’s up to 80kg.
Gu only needed one good lift of 221kg to take the victory over Iran’s Ali Hosseini (200kg), who left with the Open silver.
Great Britain’s Michael Yule was in stunning form, lifting a career best 193kg to take his first European title and Open bronze.
Russia’s Karen Abramyants (185kg) sealed European silver behind Yule.
China won their third gold medal of the day, courtesy of 22-year-old Jixiong Ye, in only his second major international competition.
Ye (226kg) debuted at the Asian Open Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in July where he won gold and broke the world record in the men’s up to 88kg.
In Eger he was in great form again, taking Open gold ahead of the UAE’s Mohammed Khamis Khalaf (220kg) and Nigeria’s Opeyemi Jegede (202kg) with Open silver and bronze, respectively.
The European title was taken by Poland’s Wawrzyniec Latus (192kg). France’s Rafik Arabat (187kg) and Ukraine’s Yurii Kupriianov (186kg) completed the European podium with silver and bronze, respectively.
Full results are available at the event website, along with live coverage and live results from each day.
Live updates are also being posted to @IPCPowerlifting and www.Facebook.com/IPCPowerlifting
Competition continues on Friday (27 November) with the men’s up to 97kg and up to 107kg and women’s up to 67kg and up to 73kg.
A record 230 lifters from more than 40 countries are in Eger for the final regional Championships of 2015.
An Americas Open Championships was held in Mexico City in April and an Asian Open in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in July. The competition is also a Paralympic ranking competition for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Courtesy of: Paralympics.org