Jordan’s Omar Qarada took the first gold medal in Para powerlifting at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the men’s up to 49kg on Thursday.
The 40-year-old Qarada and Vietnamese world record holder Ie van Cong both lift 173kg, but its Qarada who won the gold medal as he weighs a tenth of a kilogram less than his opponent.
It was Jordan second ever Paralympic gold medal and Qarada’s first after two silver at Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016.
Parvin Mammadov gave Azerbaijan the bronze medal.
“I speak a lot to Le. He is a friend. In Rio the same thing happened, we both lifted the same weight on our third lift, but in Rio it was Le stealing my gold medal. Today it was me who was able to steal the gold medal from him,” Qarada said.
“It is a dream come true, but it’s just a stepping stone for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, where I promise I will set a new world record,” he added.
