England's Emily Campbell said she wanted to show people "you can love what you do and still be absolutely fabulous while you're doing it" as she retained her Commonwealth Games title in the women's +86kg weightlifting. The 32-year-old won gold in the heaviest women's division in Birmingham four years ago and stepped on to the top of the podium again on Thursday after lifting a Games-record total of 278kg.
She also broke the clean and jerk Commonwealth record with 163kg, while she registered a 115kg snatch lift. Campbell was the first Team GB woman to win an Olympic weightlifting medal when she claimed silver at Tokyo in 2021.
"As an athlete, you always want to give your best performance, but the reason I've stayed in the sport so long is because I still genuinely enjoy lifting," Campbell said.
Her total was 25kg more than the weight managed by Malaysia's Siti Aqilah Farhana Draman, who claimed silver with 253kg, while Canadian teenager Etta Mae Love took bronze with a total of 250kg.
Campbell was the final athlete to step on to the platform, with lions braided into her hair, which was dyed bright red in a nod to Team England's colours. After failing to clear 114kg on her second snatch attempt, she lifted 115kg on her third, a result matched by New Zealand's Tui-Alofa Patolo, who missed out on the medals after managing 130kg in the clean and jerk for a 245kg total.
By the time Campbell stepped up for her opening clean and jerk attempt, the other athletes had completed their final lifts and she needed just 138kg to beat Draman. She did so on her first try, lifting 148kg before increasing the weight to 155kg.
And the cheers in the Armadillo venue reached another level as Campbell lifted a personal best 163kg and danced off the stage in celebration.
"The atmosphere out there was incredible. You couldn't really ask for the crowd to be any louder - I could barely hear myself think," Campbell said.
"Representing England means everything to me. The Commonwealth Games are incredibly special.
"In 2018, I really started believing in myself and realised I could do this. Without those Games, I don't think I'd have achieved what I have now. Whenever I represent my flag, I do it with pride."
How did Cyrille Tchatchet II win silver?
Earlier on Thursday, Team England's Cyrille Tchatchet II secured a silver medal in the men's 110kg weightlifting final. The 30-year-old lifted 166kg in the snatch and 208kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 374kg, which was bettered only by Fiji's Taniela Tuisuva Rainibogi's 378kg.
Tchatchet's success comes 12 years after he defected from Cameroon's team base at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, afraid to return to his homeland. After a period of homelessness in Brighton, Tchatchet rebuilt his life after being granted asylum.
He went on to represent the Refugee Team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and later became eligible to compete for England. Twelve years after fleeing the Cameroon camp, Tchatchet stood proudly on the Commonwealth Games podium and later celebrated on stage with his mother, who had travelled from Africa to watch her son compete.
Image caption, Tchatchet celebrated with his mother after collecting his silver medal
What are the key facts?
- Emily Campbell retained her Commonwealth Games title in the women's +86kg weightlifting on Thursday.
- She set a Games-record total of 278kg and broke the Commonwealth clean and jerk record with 163kg.
- Cyrille Tchatchet II won silver in the men's 110kg final with a total of 374kg.
- Tchatchet defected from Cameroon's team base at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and later represented the Refugee Team at Tokyo 2021.
- Tchatchet celebrated on stage with his mother, who had travelled from Africa to watch him compete.
