POWERLIFTING FAST FACTS

1.    Powerlifting was first included as a Paralympic sport at the 1984 Paralympic Games, although weightlifting made its Games debut at the Tokyo 1964 Paralympics.
2.    Since Barcelona 1992 only powerlifting is part of the Paralympic Games programme with weightlifting no longer featuring.
3.    Women were first allowed to compete in Paralympic powerlifting at the Sydney 2000 Games.
4.    Para powerlifting is practised internationally by female and male athletes in nearly 100 countries from all continents.
5.    China have topped the Para powerlifting medal table three times at Paralympics, more than any other country.
6.    Nigeria topped the medal table in the last two editions of the Games at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
7.    A total of 43 countries have won Paralympic medals in Para powerlifting – 21 have won at least one gold medal.
8.    No powerlifter has been more successful than Egypt’s Fatma Omar who has won four gold medals and one silver between Sydney 2000 and Rio 2016.
9.    The other two powerlifters who have won five medals in Paralympic Games are also female athletes: Nigeria’s Lucy Ejike (3 golds and 2 silver) and Ukraine’s Lidiia Soloviova (3 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze). 
10.  China’s Haidong Zhang is the most successful male powerlifter in Paralympic Games with four gold medals between Atlanta 1996 and Beijing 2008.