Paul Kehinde

Paul Kehinde is another in a long line of Nigerian powerlifters who have dominanted in the international scene over the last years.

Having started competing in 2011, the men's up to 65kg strongman only suffered the first defeat in his career when he took silver in the lightweight category at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. He quickly bounced back, taking gold at the African Championships in Algiers some months later.

Before that, Kehinde also claimed the title at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Thanks to such outstanding performance is that he was named Male Athlete of the Year at the 2016 Nigeria Sports Awards and also received a Member of the Order of the Niger by the Nigerian government.

He followed that up with his first world title in Mexico City, in 2017.

Kehinde took up the sport in 2005. "I was interested in the sport and had a talent for it," he said.