Gold
Paul Kehinde, 26 (NIG)

Silver
Rolland Ezuruike, 38 (NGR)

Bronze
Ali Jawad, 25 (ENG)

England’s Ali Jawad (ENG) twice beat his own world record of 190kg with bench presses of 191kg and 194kg in the Glasgow 2014 men’s lightweight powerlifting at Clyde Auditorium today (Saturday).

However, his best efforts could not deny Nigeria gold and silver under the AH formula which allows lifters with different body weights the opportunity to compete fairly against their rivals, with the final places decided on points.

Jawad, though, had the satisfaction of taking bronze and twice setting a new mark for the up to 59kg category.

Paul Kehinde (NGR) produced three successful lifts to finish on top of the podium despite starting in the group B section of the event.

His final lift of 207kg – 3kg off the world record in the up to 65kg category – meant he was the man to catch when group A began.

Kehinde, 26, had a points total of 221 calculated using the AH formula which takes bodyweight into account, and it was England’s world champion Jawad and Nigerian Rolland Ezuruike (NGR) who attempted to chase that down.

Ezuruike went second above Australia’s Abebe Fekadu (AUS) with his first lift of 175kg, giving him 203.9 points.

And Jawad ensured at least bronze with his first attempt of 186kg that took him nearer to his own world record of 190kg, set at the world championships in Dubai in April.

Ezuruike’s second of 184kg edged him closer to his countryman with 214.4 points, and Jawad stayed in third with 206.2 points.

And after Ezuruike, who usually competes in the up to 54kg category, had sealed silver with a lift of 189kg to give him 220.2 points, Jawad easily made 194kg for a points total of 209.4. The 25-year-old celebrated by cartwheeling off the bench and saluting the crowd.

It is England’s third Commonwealth Games medal in powerlifting, after Natalie Blake (ENG) took silver in the women’s lightweight earlier in the day. Zoe Smith (ENG) claimed England’s first in at Delhi 2010, taking bronze in the women’s 58kg class.

Paul Kehinde (NGR) – gold

On winning the gold medal:
“I’m feeling great, it was my target to win gold, so I am feeling very happy.”

On his experience of Glasgow 2014:
“I’ve enjoyed it very much, I love it.”

On finishing top of group B:
“I can’t believe it myself. With the tension in my body, I still managed to do very well.”

Rolland Ezuruike (NGR) – silver

On winning the silver medal:
“I feel great because I came here to make my country proud and I’ve done that.”

On his celebration plans:
“I’m going to pop some champagne and call my bird and my coach. They didn’t expect me to get this result.”

Ali Jawad (ENG) – bronze

On breaking two world records:
“It has been an incredible performance. Breaking two world records is a dream. The crowd helped me a lot. They calmed me down but at the same time pushed me up. I couldn’t ask for anything more. I want to show people how to push their limits.”

“There is not much more you can do than breaking the world record twice. Hopefully people will see that. This is why this bronze medal feels like a gold for me. I even asked for a fourth lift to break it another time but I wasn’t allowed.”

On the competition format using the AH formula, which takes bodyweight into account:
“It is difficult to explain to people how I have broke two world records but not won the gold medal, and ended up in third. In Rio (Olympics in 2016) this will not be the case. This format favours lighter athletes, which I’m not. I’m fat.”

On his immediate future:
“I will train for the European championships and hopefully I will make it to Rio.”