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11/22/2024 02:40:39 am

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Chinese Paralympic Powerlifter Tan Yujiao Breaks Previous World Record, Wins Gold at Rio Games

Yujiao Tan

(Photo : gettyimages.com) Tan lifted 138.5 kilograms with her final attempt to outshine the previous record of 138 kilograms that she had set in Eger, Hungary last year.

Chinese Paralympic powerlifter Tan Yujiao has set a new world record to claim the women's -67kg Group A title in the ongoing 15th edition of the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

According to Xinhua, Tan, a Taizhou-based athlete, lifted 138.5 kilograms with her final attempt to outshine the previous record of 138 kilograms that she set in Eger, Hungary last year.

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Kazakhstan's 50-year-old Raushan Koishibayeva settled for the silver medal with 113 kilograms and 2008 Beijing Games silver medalist Amal Mahmoud of Egypt took the bronze medal with 108 kilograms.

"I didn't really think of how all the others would perform or what they're doing," Tan said. "I just focus on myself because I think this sport is where you compete against yourself, the only one I have to defeat is myself."

The Chinese powerlifter said that her training has become a daily routine, and she has been dealing with it with sheer determination, stressing that she is happy to what it has resulted.

Tan was born with one leg longer than the other. She was diagnosed with osteomyelitis in her right foot when she was just seven years old.

At the London 2012 Games, Tan scooped the silver medal but has improved significantly over the past four years, according to China Daily.

She won the highest award at the 2015 IPC Powerlifting European and Asian Open Championship and captured the gold medal at the World Championship in 2014 before winning the Asian title in 2013.

"I was 22 years old back then and I've learned a lot of different things since so it is not like the old times," Tan said. "It really comes down to being more mature and having more determination. I think the most important thing was my passion for this sport."

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