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Grace Ebere Anozie MON (born 16 July 1977) is a Nigerian Paralympian in powerlifting. Anozie's first Paralympic medal was a bronze at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in the 82.5 kg event. At subsequent Paralympics, Anozie won a silver medal in 2008 and gold in 2012. During her career, Anozie set a Paralympic record at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in the over 86 kg event. At the 2012 Fazza International Powerlifting Championships, Anozie broke the record for most weight by a woman Paralympian in the over 82.5 kg event with 168 kilograms. After the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Anozie became a Member of the Order of the Niger.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Grace Ebere Anozie |
| Born | 16 July 1977 Enugu, Nigeria |
Medal record | |
Anozie became paralyzed from polio when she was two years old.[1] She completed a university accounting program in 1998 but changed her career to sports when she could not find a job.[2]
Anozie started powerlifting in 1998 and medalled in multiple Paralympic Games. In powerlifting, she was fourth in the 82.5 kg event at the 2000 Summer Paralympics.[3] Changing to the over 82.5 kg event, Anozie won a bronze at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. She later won a silver at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and a gold at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[1] Prior to the 2012 Paralympics, Anozie had considered ending her powerlifting career due to her previous Paralympic medal performances.[4] After the 2012 event, Anozie decided to take time off from powerlifting for a year before determining if she would compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.[5] Outside of the Paralympics, Anozie won gold at the 2013 Powerlifting Asian Open Championships.[6]
During her career, Anozie has held world records in powerlifting. At the Beijing Paralympics in 2008, she broke the Paralympic record in the over 82.5 kg powerlifting event.[7] Later on, Anozie set the world record in the over 82.5 kg category during the 2012 Fazza International Powerlifting Championships. With 168 kilograms, Anozie set a Guinness World Record for the most weight lifted by a woman Paralympian in the over 82.5 kilograms category for powerlifting.[1][8] The year later, she held the world record in the over 86 kg event at the 2013 Asian Open Championship, which was later broken by Precious Orji.[9]
Anozie was nominated for the International Paralympic Committee's athlete of the month in March 2012.[10] Following the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Anozie became a Member of the Order of the Niger that year alongside her teammates that won gold at the Paralympics.[5] At the end of 2012, Anozie was named Sportswoman of the Year by The Nation for Nigeria.[11]
Anozie lived in Benin, Edo State, Nigeria[3] before moving to the United States in 2014. She originally planned to visit Chicago for training tour for 2014 Commonwealth Games but ended up living in Shreveport, Louisiana after a conflict with her trainer.[1]
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