PARIS, Sept 7 — National powerlifting star Bonnie Bunyau Gustin overcame severe left shoulder pain to retain his gold medal in the men’s 72-kilogramme (kg) category at the 2024 Paris Paralympics today.

Bonnie, who had been struggling with the injury since last week, revealed that the pain, which started during training at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, had led to significant swelling.

"The first lift was painful, and it only worsened with each attempt. I’ve never experienced such pain before; it used to be just my back shoulder,” he told Bernama after the medal ceremony.

The 25-year-old athlete, who has dwarfism, attributed the pain to insufficient warm-up before his Paris 2024 training sessions.

Due to the discomfort, Bonnie admitted he was anxious about his performance at his second Paralympics, following Tokyo 2020.

"I was really afraid I wouldn’t be able to perform at Paris 2024, but I tried to calm myself two to three days before the competition to ensure I was mentally prepared and motivated to do my best,” he said.

On his strategy for today’s competition, the Sarawak-born athlete said he and his coaching team aimed to secure the gold medal early in the first two attempts and then break the world record on the final attempt.

Bonnie also dedicated his victory to his family, coaches, the Youth and Sports Ministry, the National Sports Council, the National Sports Institute and the Malaysian Paralympic Council for their unwavering support.

He now plans to use the RM1 million reward from the Sports Victory Prize Scheme (Shakam) to support his family in Sarawak.

In addition to winning Malaysia’s second gold, Bonnie demonstrated his dominance by lifting 232 kg, surpassing his previous world record of 231kg set at the 2023 World Powerlifting Para Championships in Dubai.

The winning lift also set a new Paralympic Games record for Bonnie, surpassing his previous mark of 228kg set at Tokyo 2020. — Bernama