Juliana Arko wins weightlifting medal

Ghana won her first medal at the ongoing African Youth Championship after weightlifter Juliana Arko secured a silver medal in the girls 63kg category on Friday.

Arko, who was competing in her first major international competition after winning eight medals at the African Weightlifting Championships in Casablanca, Morocco last year, finished with a total of 140kg.

She went through the initial snatch phase of the competition with three lifts and rounded up with three lifts in the clean-and-jerk.

She was prevented from taking a gold medal by an Egyptian athlete (Sarah) while a Moroccan won third place.

The 2013 SWAG Weightlifter of the Year is one of three athletes on a Ghana Olympic Committee sourced Olympic Solidarity Scholarship, and has already qualified to compete in the World Youth Championship in Nanjing, in August.

In a related development, Ghana’s other Weightlifter at the AYG, Christian Amoah will be chasing a medal and qualification to the World Youth Championship when he competes in the boy’s 77kg event on Saturday.