Kenyan para-powerlifter, Hellen Wawira Kariuki in a workout session in Nairobi. [AFP]
In a claustrophobic dimly-lit room in a Nairobi stadium, the diminutive Kenyan Paralympian Hellen Wawira Kariuki barely breaks a sweat as she powerlifts nearly double her weight, her coach urging her on.
“Sixty kilos is still warming up,” grinned the 32-year-old, who qualified for the Paris Games that open next week in the para-powerlifting under 41-kilo category.
“The sport has helped me to have courage which I did not have before,” Wawira told AFP.
The Kenyan athlete, who has spina bifida, a congenital malformation of the spine, finished fifth at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
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