Weightlifter Adijat Olarinoye’s biography, lifestyle, relationship, and net worth
Adijat Adenike Olarinoye was born on July 14, 1999. She competed for Nigeria at the 2019 African Games, marking her debut there, and brought home three medals, including two golds in the women’s 55-kilogram weightlifting event, although Chika Amalaha was content with the silver. On August 26, during the 2019 African Games, Adijat lifted 116 kg, breaking the previous African record in the clean and jerk weightlifting category.
Adijat Adenike Olarinoye (born July 14, 1999) is a Nigerian weightlifter. The 23-year-old awards-winning weightlifter is from Oyo state, southwest Nigeria. She attended primary and high schools in Oyo State, Nigeria, before making a name for herself on the world stage.
Adijat Olarinoye’s feats in sports.
Adijat Adenike Olarinoye gave Nigerians something to celebrate by earning her nation’s first gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which are currently taking place in Birmingham. She also set a new record by lifting 203 kg to win gold in the women’s 55 kg weightlifting category.
Olarinoye’s victory was far from simple; in fact, she had some luck on her side because she nearly let the gold slip through her fingers after it appeared that the Nigerian technical crew made a conservative choice on her lifts that might have cost her the gold.
Having successfully lifted 110 kg on her second attempt, the Nigerian lifter went for 111 kg. Thankfully, she was successful, and she went on to win the competition. It could have seemed like a gamble when the Nigerian officials called, but they were likely monitoring her bodily strength after two straight lifts without much recuperation.
Olarinoye got things rolling right away by breaking two games records in the snatch division in the span of ten minutes after lifting 90 and 92 kg, respectively. She tried to lift 93 kg on her final snatch effort but failed, but she was the only competitor to do so, giving her a 3 kg advantage going into the Clean and Jerk.
The Nigerian weightlifter was fortunate that the English and Indian weightlifters didn’t match her combined total of 203 kg when she performed the Clean and Jerk, lifting 110 kg and 111 kg in short succession. Bindyarani Sorokhaibam of India had one more attempt left, and Fraser Morrow of England was attempting to match 203 kg. The latter missed her last effort at 115 kg, but the former moved into second place with a lift of 116 kg. Overall, Olarinoye took a gamble and proved to be the day’s greatest lifter, bending down to thank her creator for her success.
Stella Kingsley, a 19-year-old who competed in the women’s 49 kg weightlifting, finished fourth with a combined lift of 170 kg, just missing the podium. Kingsley narrowly missed out on the silver and bronze medals by just 2 kg and 1 kg, respectively.
Kingsley tried lifting 98 kg in her last effort to take second place after lifting 94 kg in the Clean & Jerk. She received two greens and a red and was determined not to have lifted the weight cleanly and was forced to settle for fourth place.
Overall, Nigeria had a successful day at the Games. The men’s table tennis team advanced to the team competition quarterfinals, and the women’s team came extremely close to following suit before dropping their last group match, 3-2, to England.
After her victory in Birmingham, Olarinoye told NationSport, “I have been training and preparing for real, and before my competition day, I just knew that I was going to win the gold. I had a gut feeling that I would prevail, even though I had no idea how it would happen. When two of my teammates were unable to reach the podium, I really hoped for the gold medal because I felt horrible.”
“I was thinking ‘NO’; two lifters had competed and received nothing, and I had to be the first Nigerian gold medallist. As the team leader, I wanted everyone to be happy and win. I wasn’t the first Nigerian to win a medal, but I wanted a gold one, and I got one.”
Adijat Olarinoye’s background and rise to fame
Not much information could be gathered about her background, but from the heavyweight champion’s Facebook page and the previous posts thereon (especially pictures), one can easily gather that she is from a humble background (at least pictures don’t lie, right?)
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How did Adijat Olarinoye get into sports?
In an interview, Adijat Olarioye revealed how she came to fall in love with sports. Olarinoye’s love affair with sports began at the Rowe Park Sports Complex in Yaba, where she first developed an interest after being exposed to sports stores.
In her words, “My mother’s store is situated inside the Rowe Park Sports complex in Yaba, therefore my interest in sports began there,” she added. “Before settling on weightlifting, I once romanced judo, wrestling, and gymnastics, and since weight-lifting is similar to other sports, I don’t consider it to be difficult.
She remarked with an emotion-filled voice, “My father was against my choice of activity because he felt weightlifting was not good for girls, with the belief that it might affect their lives.” However, my mother provided me with a lot of support, and I must give her credit for what she has done and is now doing because she is still my staunch ally.”
Despite the risks involved in weightlifting, Olarinoye is not deterred. She remarked that every athlete gets worried about injuries, which is why they tend to focus more on the technical aspects of their chosen sports, and they must always visit their physiotherapist rather than self-treating. For instance, instead of taking an aspirin when they feel discomfort, they must visit a physiotherapist.
Adijat Olarinoye Net Worth
How Rich is Adijat Olarinoye? It is believed that Adijat Adenike Olarinoye has a net worth of $5 million. Her income was derived from her profession as a weightlifter. Popularly known as Nigeria’s weightlifter, she is considered to be one of the most successful weightlifters in history. Olarinoye Adijat won Nigeria’s first gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the women’s 55kg weightlifting event.
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