Sara Ahmed wins Egypt’s first Rio 2016 Olympic medal in weightlifting

Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images

Weightlifter Sara Ahmed finished in third place in the 69kg finals to win Egypt’s first medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

In the 69kg women’s weightlifting final, Sara Ahmed finished third in Group A – and overall – to clinch the bronze medal and finally break Egypt’s duck in Brazil.

The 18-year-old successfully lifted 112kg in her third snatch attempt, before managing 143kg in the clean-and-jerk section of the competition for a total of 255kg.

Chinese Xiang Yanmei finished in first place with 261kg, with Zhazira Zhapparkul of Kazakhstan winning silver with a total of 259kg.

It is worth noting that Ahmed won the 2015 World Youth Weightlifting Championships in Lima, also in the 69kg category, before finishing in fourth place at the 2015 World Weightlifting Championships.

She rounded out the year by winning the Arab Championships, albeit with a lower total than the youth and senior World Championships.

The bronze medal makes Sara Ahmed the first-ever female athlete to win a medal for Egypt, although Abeer Abdelrahman was awarded the London 2012 silver medal in weightlifting after a number of athletes were disqualified for banned substance use.

Scroll down to see Sara’s achievement as it happened:

Photos: Julian Finney/Getty Images