Mercy Apondi Obiero born on August 27, 1978, in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

is a Kenyan weightlifter. Obiero's brother

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

introduced her to weightlifting in 1999. Before then, she had played hockey. Alongside Mercy, David competed at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games. Mercy Obiero made her international debut at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

where she failed to get a result in the 48 kg weight class. Four years later, she participated at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, where she finished in seventh place in the 63 kg weight class. In 2010, she competed at the

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

and finished in fifth position in the 69 kg weight class. Obiero competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

where she received an unused quota spot. Obiero finished 13th in the 69 kg category, but later was moved up to 11th position (last among completed lifters), due to disqualifications. Her total was 181 kg. By competing in London, Obiero was the first Kenyan woman weightlifter at the Olympics and the second from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

after

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

’s Irene Ajambo. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Obiero finished in eighth place in the women's 69 kg weight class. By 2020, Obiero had retired from competition, and became a trainer for one of her daughters and a granddaughter.

References

Kenyan female weightlifters Weightlifters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic weightlifters for Kenya 1978 births Living people African Games bronze medalists for Kenya African Games medalists in weightlifting Competitors at the 2015 African Games Sportspeople from Nairobi Weightlifters at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Kenya 20th-century Kenyan women 21st-century Kenyan women 21st-century Kenyan people {{Kenya-weightlifting-bio-stub