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CWG 2022 gold medallist weightlifter says clean and jerk attempt was same as lifting 'a reindeer and one panda…’'
Weightlifter Emily Campbell secured a new personal best and CWG record at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
Emily Campbell clinched gold in the women's +87kg weightlifting category at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022) in Birmingham, on Thursday. The British athlete also secured a new personal best and Games record of 124 kg in the snatch portion of the event, three kilograms clear of reigning champion Feagaiga Stowers of Samoa.
After initially choosing her first lift as 115kg, she increased her opening weight to 117kg. Stowers matched her as she lifted her first attempt cleanly. At 121kg, Campbell stuck her tongue out to the crowd with the above her head. Stowers faltered at 121kg and then lifted it in her final attempt. Campbell then also broke her personal best with a lift of 124kgs. In clean and jerk, Stowers found it hard with an opening lift of 147kg and then failed with both her attempts at 154kg. Campbell cleared 152kg and then went past 157kg, and then lifted 162g, registering a personal best for an overall CWG record of 286kg.
Speaking to BBC in a funny interview, she compared her clean and jerk weight to the weight of animals. She quipped, "It is the same as five Dalmatian dogs, two kangaroos, a reindeer and one panda."
After her win, Campbell also paid tribute to four-time CWG champion Previous McKenzie. She said, "Precious is immense in his own right. His words to me before I came out today were, ‘everybody is expecting you to win – you go out and win.’ I couldn’t have asked for any better advice."
"Precious has done immense things for weightlifting and he’s still here at 86 years old giving back to the sport. When Precious McKenzie tells you to go out and win, you go out and win."
