Russia’s Vera Muratova triumphed in the first Para Powerlifting Online World Cup ©World Para Powerlifting

Russia’s Vera Muratova and Colombia’s Fabio Torres triumphed in the first Para Powerlifting Online World Cup.

Muratova, who earned bronze in the women’s under-86 kilogram at last year’s World Championships in Nur-Sultan, emerged from the contest as the best female weightlifter.

She scored 122.14 points, finishing in front of compatriot Anastasiia Mamadamirova on 108.10 and Kazakhstan’s Raushan Koishibayeva on 103.92.

Torres, the men’s under-97kg bronze medallist at Nur-Sultan 2019, scored 194.76, with Italy’s world junior champion Donato Telesca in second on 176.52 and another Colombian, Jainer Cantillo, in third on 173.25.

Twenty-five athletes from 11 countries competed in total. 

A team competition also took place, with four captains selecting a team of two female and two male powerlifters each.

Teams scored points for each athlete's individual performance.

Captained by Mexico’s three-time Paralympic gold medallist Amalia Perez, team blue finished well ahead of the other three contenders with 524.22 points. 

Perez’s squad included Italy’s Telesca alongside three Kazakhstan lifters, Koishibayeva, Rakhmetzhan Khamayev and Aline Solodukhina.

Alessandro Boraschi’s team yellow ended in second place with 397.73, followed by Sherif Osman’s team red on 348.07 and Pedro Meloni’s team green on 108.10. 

The Online World Cup series is set to continue this month, with the second of the five stages starting on Monday (May 11). 

After each event, athletes earn points for an overall ranking. 

The athlete with highest number of points after the five online competitions will be the 2020 World Cup winner.