Emily Campbell delivered a strong performance on the final day of weightlifting at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, securing a gold medal in the women’s super-heavyweight category. Her win contributed to a successful day for England, which also saw Cyrille Tchatchet II earn a silver medal and Andy Griffiths take a bronze.
Campbell, who previously won gold in Birmingham, showcased her dominance by clearing a significant margin in the clean and jerk. She finished with a total of 278kg. This performance put her well ahead of Aqilah Farhana from Malaysia, who secured silver with 253kg, and Etta Love from Canada, who took bronze. Campbell did not know she had secured the gold with her first clean and jerk lift of 148kg, but continued to lift 155kg and 163kg, the latter setting a new Games record.
Her coach’s strategy played a key role, with Campbell stating, “The coaches decide everything and my job is to just go out and lift the bar.” She expressed satisfaction with her final lift, noting it was “just about perfect.”
Tchatchet’s remarkable journey to silver
Cyrille Tchatchet II achieved a silver medal in the men’s 110kg category, marking a significant moment in his weightlifting career. His total lift was 374kg, comprising 166kg in the snatch and 208kg in the clean and jerk. This achievement comes 12 years after Glasgow last hosted the Games, an event during which Tchatchet, then competing for Cameroon, remained in Britain seeking asylum.
His journey included a period of homelessness, struggles with depression, and eventually finding support through a charity. He later became a mental health nurse in the NHS, started a family, and resumed weightlifting, even competing in the Tokyo Olympic Games as part of the IOC Refugee Team. Tchatchet celebrated his silver medal with his mother, who saw him compete for the first time.
In the same category, Taniela Rainibogi of Fiji secured the gold medal with a total of 378kg, making him Fiji’s first gold medallist since Eileen Cikamatana in 2018. Xavier Lusignan from Canada earned third place with 356kg.
Super-heavyweight drama and bronze for Griffiths
The men’s super-heavyweight competition saw a dramatic finish, with David Liti of New Zealand claiming his second Commonwealth Games gold medal. Liti overcame a 10kg deficit in the snatch against Lovepreet Singh of India. Singh finished with 388kg, but Liti successfully lifted 223kg in his clean and jerk to secure the gold with a total of 389kg.
England’s Andy Griffiths took a surprise bronze medal in this category. Griffiths, who runs a gym in the northwest of England and is Tchatchet’s room-mate, made his debut in the super-heavyweight division in international weightlifting. He achieved a total of 356kg, with lifts of 165kg in the snatch and 191kg in the clean and jerk. Griffiths expressed his enjoyment of competing in the heavier category.
The final day of weightlifting in Glasgow concluded with Oceania accumulating four gold medals, Malaysia five, India one, Nigeria three, and Canada two. Campbell’s victory meant that for the second consecutive Games, all five of weightlifting’s continental federations secured at least one win.
Campbell plans to celebrate her win in Glasgow before resuming her training schedule.
Source: iwf.sport
