A celebration of the England Championships 2022

The England Championships were held this weekend at Derby Arena, with over 200 lifters battling it out on the platform.

There was a fantastic atmosphere across both platforms, with over 400 spectators cheering on the athletes as seniors and masters lifted for England Championship titles.

There were some fantastic displays of strength and power on the England Senior Championships platform.

In the women’s 49kg category, Tammy Wong secured first place with a best snatch of 62kg, a best clean and jerk of 76kg, giving her an impressive total of 137kg.

Commonwealth Games athlete Noorin Gulam moved up a weight category, to compete in the women’s 55kg category, successfully securing first place with a total of 160kg.

In the women’s 59kg category Jenny Tong, BWL Regional Pathway Coach and Non-Executive Director secured gold.

In the women’s 64kg category, Abby Stevens from Altringham Weightlifting Club took first place with a total of 180kg. Georgina Jackson from London Strength took second place with a total of 179kg and in third place was Josie Griffiths with a total of 172kg.

In the women’s 71kg category Erin Barton took the lead to take first place with a total of 216kg, a massive 43kg ahead of second place. This time last year, Erin had not competed in a British Weight Lifting (BWL) competition. She has since won gold at the British Open, British Championships and competed in her first European Championships.

Sarah Davies took to the platform in the 76kg category for the first time since she secured gold at the Commonwealth Games in August this year. Her performance saw her secure two new British records in the snatch when she successfully lifted 102kg. In the clean and jerk Sarah successfully lifted 124kg. Her second attempt of 128kg for a British record was unsuccessful and with first place already secured, Sarah chose not to lift her third attempt.

In the women’s 81kg category, Katrina Feklistova had a good day at the office, securing first place ahead of Deborah Alawode who got into difficulty with her first clean and jerk, throwing her off balance until her third attempt where she successfully lifted 117kg. Katrina’s best snatch was 96kg, her best clean and jerk was 117kg, finishing with a total of 213kg. This gave Katrina two British records for her snatch and total. Deborah took silver with a total of 210kg and Sarah Wiltshire took bronze with a total of 199kg.

In the women’s senior 87kg category Alexandra Cave from Central London Weightlifting club took gold with a massive 182kg total.

In the women’s 87+kg category, Jessica Da ‘Silva secured first place after a close battle with Leah Clarke, ending with a best snatch of 92kg, a best clean and jerk of 125kg, giving her a total of 217kg.

In the men’s 61kg category, Daniel Pogmore secured gold with a total of 190kg.

In the men’s 67kg category, Rooni Siraj from Atlas Weightlifting Club took first place, the only lifter in his weight category to go 3/3 in the clean and jerks, giving him a total of 254kg.

In the men’s 73kg category, Jonathan Chin pipped Jacob Finnigan to first place by just 1kg, with a total of 283kg. However, Jacob’s performance was enough to secure him three under 20 British records. His best snatch was 125kg, his best clean and jerk was 157kg, giving him a total of 282kg.

Omarie Mears took gold in the men’s 81kg category with a best snatch of 127kg, a best clean and jerk of 153kg, giving him a total of 280kg. The competition was heavily contested with a number of no lifts for all lifters in the snatch and clean and jerk.

In the men’s 89kg, LOWA lifter Ramiro Mora Romero successfully beat fellow LOWA athlete and Under 23 British Champion Stefano Cataldi to first place and secured three British records in the process. Ramiro’s best snatch was 155kg, his best clean and jerk was 191kg, giving him a total of 346kg.

Power jerker Stefano secured under 20 and 23 British records for his performance on the day. His best snatch was 142kg, his best clean and jerk was 180kg, giving him a total of 322kg.

In the men’s 96kg category, Edmon Avetisyan made a return to competition following injury and secured gold, Steven Bestman secured silver and Ed Smale took bronze.

In the men’s 102kg category, James Newman from Ronin Barbell Club took first place with a total of 254kg.

Benedict Millson took gold in the men’s 109kg category with just a 1kg lead on second place David Harding-Prior with a total of 307kg.

Mack Middleton secured a new clean and jerk British record when he made a 12kg jump to 197kg in the 109+kg category.

Senior Results 

 

On Friday 28 October, the current Talent Transfer cohort competed at Derby Arena. This was the second dedicated Talent Transfer competition BWL has organised, with the first being at the England Commonwealth Trials back in April.

The group did amazing on the platform, and with the help of Emily Campbell, Dave Sawyer and Giles Greenwood in the back room it was no surprise.

The England Masters platform was busy with over 70 lifters taking part in the England championships, with some great performances from the athletes.

Lifters were aged from 35 years old up to 70 years and displayed great passion, technique and strength on the platform. A total of 51 medals were awarded to masters athletes and it was fantastic to see medals being worn around the venue with pride.

Masters and Talent Transfer Results 

 

British Weight Lifting would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made the England Championships such a success this weekend.

Thank you to the loaders, Technical Officials and volunteers who gave up their time to adjudicate the lifts, be a speaker, load the bar, help make the event run smoothly and help pack the kit away. It is very much appreciated.

Thanks to our partners who continue to support us and to the commentators supporting our livestream – Ramsey Kechacha, Gareth Evans and Emily Campbell.

Finally, thank you to the athletes, coaches and supporters for creating such a fantastic atmosphere, competing and cheering each other on.