London 2012 Paralympian Ali Jawad continued his fine form by setting a British record and unofficial world record by lifting 190 kilograms in the 59kg class.

Jawad bettered his performance at the Asian Open Championships last November where he took the Asian title and set a world mark of 185.5kg, to justify his position as one of the medal favourites for the upcoming World Championships in Dubai, due to run from April 5 to 11.

Scotland's Micky Yule was also in impressive form as he confirmed his place in Dubai with a British record lift of 173kg in the 65kg category while Paul Efayena added 16kg to his personal best as he registered a lift of 196kg in the 107kg class, setting a British record en route.

Adam Alderman and Panagiotis Mamuneas also impressed with Mamuneas setting a personal best in the 54kg class, adding 5kg to his previous best of 115kg.

On the women's side, Natalia Blake and Zoe Newson also recorded new national records.

Blake lifted above 100kg for the first time in four years as she recorded 101kg in the 55kg category while Newman produced an effort of 91kg in the 41kg class.

"All athletes on the world class programme have put themselves in a good position and made themselves eligible for selection for the World Championships in Dubai in April," said Paralympic performance manager Tom Whittaker.

"This is a huge positive moving forward into 2014 as continual progress is vital.

"Athletes moving towards the BWL funding matrix who have been working closely with the programme have been waiting patiently for this competition to show progress and have all done so highlighting the effort many have put into their own development.

"It is also an opportunity to thank the support staff and coaches that have worked tirelessly over the last few months to help deliver these performances."

Ali Jawad continues to show why he is among the favourites for gold at the upcoming IPC Powerlifting World Championships ©Getty Images



British Weight Lifting chief executive, Ashley Metcalfe was impressed by the performances in Folkestone and believes that it shows that the athletes are on track to produce possible medal winning performances at major championships.

"It's great to see our athletes at all levels performing so well and showing that the money invested by UK Sport into IPC Powerlifting is being well spent and helping to build a strong base for an exciting future," he said.

British Weight Lifting says it will announce the full British squad for the upcoming World Championships shortly.

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