4th December, 2012
Carol Okonkwo, a Team Rivers weightlifter, has dedicated the three gold medals she won to the people of the state and promised to win more, if given the opportunity.
Carol won the medals in the 63kg female event on Sunday, at the ongoing 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos.
Her two opponents from Akwa Ibom and Lagos settled for the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Okonkwo said she prepared well for the games and that all her efforts did not go in vain. Head coach of Team Rivers weightlifting, Ojade Aduche, commended Okonkwo for her feat.
“We prepared her (Okonkwo) to set a new national and African record in her category.
“But, she had a knee injury and so we had to modify our plan.”
“We are happy she won the medals and we look forward to winning more medals. Weightlifting has 45 gold, 45 silver and 45 bronze medals for the various weight categories.
“We cannot specifically say we want to win all the medals because in weightlifting, injury can come at any time.
“We will try our best to win as many medals as possible,’’ Aduche, a former Commonwealth weightlifting medalist, added.