Victories for Nadia Ali (141kgs) and Mohamed Elsayed (227kgs) in the women’s 86kgs-plus category and the men’s U107kgs classification took Egypt’s gold tally up to 10 as they claimed half of the 20 on offer in the championship.
To put Egypt’s dominant display into perspective, the other 10 golds were shared around among seven nations.
The Ukrainians seemed set to finish second with nine medals, including two golds, but Siamand Rahman’s new world-record lift of 296kgs in the last event of the championship – the men’s 107kgsplus class – took Iran’s tally to three golds and gave them second place ahead of Ukraine.
Rahman’s sensational showing was a fitting finale to the competitive action at the Dubai Club for the Disabled, where representatives from each of the 42 participating nations were presented with special mementos of this seventh edition.
The UAE’s Paralympic hero Mohammed Khamis Khalaf, who claimed the hosts’ only senior medal with a bronze in the men’s U88kgs event, was also recognized for his contribution to Emirati powerlifting.
Arab countries made up four of the top 10 nations overall, with Jordan (fourth), Iraq (tied seventh) and Algeria (tied 10th) all finishing behind runaway winners Egypt.
Morocco and the hosts UAE came away with a bronze medal apiece to finish in a six-way share of 14th spot in the final tally.
