Ghana’s Forester Osei won gold in the 96kg category at the just-ended African Seniors Weightlifting Championship in Libya.
The competition, which took place from March 20 to 24, was a 2020 Olympic qualifier and Osei’s feat put Ghana a step forward towards qualifying for weightlifting in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Forester did 145kg in the snatch and 170kg in the Clean and Jerk, scoring a total of 315kg to win the gold, while Wajih Tlili of Tunisia won silver and Morocco’s Mahdi Armilat won bronze.
According to the Ghana Weightlifting Federation (GWF), about USD18,000 will be needed to participate in the African Continental Championship in Egypt from April 25 to 29 to secure qualification to Tokyo 2020.
The 2016 Commonwealth weightlifting gold medallist expressed his gratitude to the GWF President, Ben Nunoo Mensah, the Minister of Youth and Sports (MOYS), Isaac Kwame Asiamah, and his ministry for co-financing his trip.
The athlete was also thankful to the President and Secretary-General of the Weightlifting Federation of Africa, Messrs Khalid and Mannar Eshelli, his Coach, Kyle Piece, and the Libyan Federation for making his stay in Libya very smooth.
By: Beatrice Laryea
