Nairobi — Kenya has finally earned a medal off track and field at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after paralifter Hellen Wawira clinched bronze in the women’s lightweight final on Thursday evening.
Wawira had a best lift of 97kg to finish third, edging out Manpreet kaur who couldn’t go beyond 88kg.
She started off her attempts with 95kg which she successfully lifted before topping up to 97kg where she also lifted with ease.
Her third attempt was on 99kg but she couldn’t successfully take it off and she finished off with a mean weight of 98.5kg.
“I am thankful because getting this bronze was not easy. I came here praying to get any kind of medal. I had always wished to get a Commonwealth medal. I have been training hard and I am delighted this has come to pass,” Wawira said after the victory.
Her coach David Omondi was equally elated; “We have been working and training giving each other heart aiming for a medal here. We wanted gold, but nonetheless I am thankful that we have finished with a medal. Now we want to train well and ensure we do better in the 2024 Olympic Games.”
The English duo of Zoe Newson and Olivia Broome took gold and silver with an average of 102.2 and 100.0 respectively.