Sandra Owusu makes new weightlifting record ahead of trials

There is some transport of delight in the camp of the Black Cranes as young female lifter Sandra Mensimaa Owusu has broken a few records in the weightlifting camp.

The 20-year-old, who campaigns in the 59kg body-weight class, is making some remarkable progress at training – lifting 85kg in the clean and jerk, beating a previous 80kg recorded in the last trials, last month.

She subsequently snatched 73kg last week, upstaging a previous 65kg registered during the same trials.

Buoyed by the moderate feat, an excited coach Johnson Abotsi said he was optimistic of picking a couple of Olympic tickets in the forthcoming Madagascar qualifiers.

“I’m very thrilled at the improved performance of Sandra and a good number of our lifters. I believe we can make a big impact in Madagascar and pluck some tickets for the Tokyo Olympic Games,” he told the Times Sports.

The Ghana Weightlifting Federation (GWF) will hold its third and final trials ahead of the Madagascar championship next month.

Slated for the Accra Sports Stadium on Friday April 30, the trials will see the lifters sharpening their arsenal for the Madagascar competition, which would serve as final qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Five crack lifters including Christian Amoah and UK-based Forrester Osei are expected to leave Accra early next month for the championship that is expected to be held in the Madagascan capital, Antananarivo, from May 16-23, 2021.

Lady lifters Winifred Ntumi and Sandra Owusu are determined to make the trip and are poised to push to the limit in the final Accra trials.

Amoah and Osei are just a few points away from landing safely in Tokyo, and are heavily favoured to seal it off in May. Osei is said to have booked a place in the Games after an imposing performance in an individual event, but that would only be confirmed in Madagascar.

BY JOHN VIGAH