Powerlifter Wawira eyeing gold for Kenya at the Paralympics

Kenyan Powerlifter Hellen Wawira will be seeking to take the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games by storm on Thursday morning when she takes on the stage to start Kenya's hunt for gold at the delayed Paralympics Games in Powerlifting, 41 kg and above.

Wawira missed on gold at the World Cup in Dubai and will be out to make better her performance at this stage and the 29-year old is ready to give a splendid performance.

Together with her technical bench comprising of head coach Lena Nyaboke, loader David Maore, and Team Manager Joseph Ochieng, Wawira has been working on lifting 100kg and has been working on her technique which she said has been the main issue.

"In my last two weeks of training, I was working on my third attempt which is lifting 100kg and I am hopeful I will hit it here at the Paralympics. Before I got here, I had tension but when I trained here I got confidence that I have never had before, so I am ready for this competition,” Wawira told Team Kenya's media.

The Embu-born athlete said that despite missing the World Cup gold in Dubai, she borrowed a couple of positives from there and she will be using that experience to push for gold at the Paralympics.

"I did not have a good performance at the World Cup in Dubai, but I learnt a lot. It was not my time then, but now I am motivated by that and ready to show the world my worth. This is not my first time competing. I have won gold before so winning gold will not be the first time for me. The technical bench has been good and very supportive more so on technique which was a bit troubling me," Wawira added.

Kenya will be taking part in the Games for the 12 time since making her debut in Heidelberg, Germany in 1972 and will be seeking to add to their 48 medals tally since then in which 19 are gold, 16 silver, and 13 Bronze.

Wawira will be among the nine athletes who will be flying the Kenyan flag, with seven of the nine being from athletics and one a para rower.