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Cast your votes: The People’s Choice Awards

British Weight Lifting is proud to unveil the shortlisted athletes for the NEW People’s Choice Awards, sponsored by Power Grid Projects.

This brand-new award shines a spotlight on the moments from the British Championships that captured the true spirit of our sports: lifts that embodied courage, resilience, and sheer determination. From comeback performances to crowd-igniting lifts, these nominees remind us that the platform is as much about heart as it is about strength.

Across three categories (Senior, Masters, and Para Powerlifting) our selection panel has chosen athletes whose performances stood out as the most inspiring and unforgettable. Now, it’s over to you, the weightlifting community, to cast your vote and help decide who will take home the £500 prize in each category.

The nominees were chosen by our selection panel across the following criteria:

Grit and determination
Adversity overcome
Emotional impact
Technical execution under pressure
Crowd reaction & energy

Thank you to everyone who took the time to send in nominations. The response was incredible, and with so many inspiring stories it was no easy task for our selection panel to narrow them down. Using the award’s selection criteria, the panel carefully reviewed each nomination and agreed on the shortlist of athletes you see below.

Emma McCready

Emma is a seasoned weightlifter who has been competing at the British Championships for a decade. Throughout that time, her husband Steven was always by her side, either coaching her or supporting from the crowd.

In 2024, their world was turned upside down when Steven was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. Emma stepped away from training during the summer to care for him, spending his final eight weeks together in a hospice. The last competition Steven was able to attend was the 2024 British Championships at the NEC, making that event deeply significant for them both.

This year, Emma returned to the same stage at the NEC. After picking up training again in February following a seven-month break, she produced an incredible 195kg total which secured her a silver medal. Her performance was not just a sporting achievement but also a deeply personal milestone, symbolising resilience through grief and her ongoing connection to Steven.

In her own words, Emma reflected on what that moment meant:

“Weightlifting and Steven are intimately connected for me. Every time my name is called to the platform I think of him. I didn’t know if I would carry on once Steven died, but in less than five months I have done four competitions, building on my total each time. I am so proud of how I have approached and handled this period of my life. I cried on the podium because Steven found it cool when I won medals, but he found it even cooler when I looked happy and confident on the platform.”

Emma’s story captures the true spirit of the People’s Choice Awards. Her performance at the British Championships was a testament to her strength, both on and off the platform, and an inspiring reminder of the power of perseverance through hardship.

Heather Curtis

In Heather’s nomination, she was described as a continuing source of inspiration within the fitness community. She has faced significant personal adversity following the illness and passing of her husband, Ryan, yet has continued to train, compete and excel while also caring for him and raising their young son, Albert, as a single parent.

The British Championships represented the culmination of 10 years of dedication to Olympic weightlifting. Heather produced a career-best total of 212kg, an improvement of 6kg on her previous best and a huge step forward since her last competition in Malta only three months earlier. In a bold moment, she attempted 97kg despite missing her previous lift at 96kg, determined to stay on course for the 212kg total she had targeted. That lift not only kept her in medal contention but also secured the world qualification standard she had been working towards.

Heather went on to claim silver in the women’s 77kg category. Her smile and visible joy after completing the lift captured everything that makes the sport special: resilience, determination and pride in achieving hard-fought goals. The crowd’s response, with loud and passionate cheers, was a fitting reflection of her achievement.

Joshua Hutton

Josh Hutton received multiple nominations for his performance at the British Championships. In April of the previous year, he sustained an ACL rupture while attempting a 164kg clean and jerk on the platform at BUCS.

In the 13 months since that injury, Josh underwent knee surgery, committed to rehabilitation, dropped a weight class and worked tirelessly to return to the sport. His efforts were rewarded at the British Championships, where he produced the heaviest snatch of his group with 147kg, matching the British Under-23 record.

His clean and jerk warm up was far from ideal, with his coach later describing it as “awful” and recalling how Josh was sick into a bin before stepping on stage. On the platform, he missed his first two lifts at 162kg and 163kg, leaving all the pressure on his final attempt. Josh composed himself, added 4kg to the bar, and successfully lifted 167kg. Not only did this surpass the weight that had caused his injury a year earlier, it also impressed the crowd and marked a defining moment in his comeback.

Making it back to the competitive platform just 13 months after such a significant injury was an achievement in itself, both physically and mentally. To then hit a personal best clean and jerk, secure a silver medal and do so on his 21st birthday made Josh’s performance one of the standout moments of the competition.

Aaron Holt

In 2022, Aaron was at the peak of his weightlifting career, having broken the British snatch record in the men’s 81kg category. Only a month later, his progress was halted by a serious injury that dislocated his thumb and tore ligaments from the bone. Following surgery and specialist rehabilitation, he was forced to relearn how to hold a barbell.

Just as he began his return to training, Aaron suffered another devastating setback when he tore his Achilles during his very first session back. The injury meant more time away from the platform and months in a boot while it healed.

Through countless hours of rehabilitation and relentless commitment to rebuilding his strength, Aaron eventually returned to competition at the British Open. This marked his first event in three years, and he impressed with a q-points ranking that secured his place at the British Championships.

Aaron was nominated for his outstanding six-for-six performance at the Championships, a display that symbolised his determination to reclaim his place in the sport after a long battle with injury and the feeling of having lost his identity during that time.

Elizabeth Parkes

Elizabeth “Liz” Parkes received an outpouring of nominations for her performance at the British Championships. Many of these came from her personal training clients, who spoke of the inspiration she has given them to take up exercise. One nomination captured her impact perfectly by saying, “Liz doesn’t just lift weights, she lifts people.”

In 2022, Liz was balancing her own training alongside a busy PT schedule when she began experiencing pain in her hands and wrists. A specialist diagnosed her with Carpal Tunnel syndrome, and in 2023 she underwent bilateral wrist surgery that left her unable to lift.

Through intensive rehabilitation, Liz gradually learned to lift again from the very beginning. Her return to the British Championships was rewarded with a personal best clean and jerk of 52kg, a gold medal, and most importantly, a performance that symbolised her resilience and unwavering commitment to the sport.

Helen Cooper

Helen was nominated multiple times for her performance at the British Championships, which also marked her national debut, a moment she admitted she felt nervous about.

A few years earlier, Helen underwent shoulder surgery and was told she would not be able to return to weightlifting. Refusing to accept this, she continued going to the gym, focusing on movements she could manage while committing to a long period of rehabilitation.

Her journey back to competition was made even harder by an elbow injury that affected her lockout and created doubts about whether she could secure the crucial “good lift” calls from referees. Alongside this, Helen has also been managing Crohn’s Disease, a condition that has added further challenges to both her training and competition preparation.

Despite all of these setbacks, Helen delivered an impressive five-for-six performance at the British Championships, making a 53kg snatch and a 70kg clean and jerk. Her fourth-place finish in her category was a powerful statement of resilience and determination, showing her ability to overcome adversity and proudly step onto the national stage for the first time.

Sean Clare

Sean received multiple nominations for his incredible 151kg bench press at the British Championships. His story resonated deeply with the community, as many highlighted how he has continued to overcome the challenges of a recently diagnosed life-changing eye condition, Retinitis Pigmentosa, adapting not only his training but his everyday lifestyle.

In the build-up to the competition, Sean even trained through the adversity of a broken thumb yet still managed to deliver a standout performance on the national stage.

Just a week before the British, Sean lifted 151kg at the Irish Invitational, a Commonwealth Games qualifying event. This lift was critical to improving Sean’s rankings, but sadly, on that occasion, the lift was ruled ‘no lift’ by the referees. Refusing to let this setback define him, Sean returned to the platform at the British Championships with determination and composure, successfully pressing the same weight and this time receiving the all-important ‘good lift’ decision.

Claire Losh

Claire’s journey to the platform is one of remarkable resilience. A mum of three and active nursery worker, Claire’s life changed dramatically in 2023 when she suffered a fall that resulted in a spinal cord injury. After months of intensive rehabilitation and returning home to the Isle of Man, she was determined to find new ways to stay active.

In 2024, Claire discovered Para Powerlifting through her local gym and coach and quickly embraced the sport. By early 2025 she had not only committed to training but also joined the board of her national governing body as the island’s Para ambassador. Her first major outing came at the Irish Invitational in Dublin, poignantly held on the two-year anniversary of her accident, a milestone she used as powerful motivation.

Despite receiving three ‘no lift’ decisions from referees at that competition, Claire refused to be discouraged. She refocussed her efforts and came to the British Championships with renewed determination, where she delivered three successful lifts, finishing on a 48kg bench press, a performance that symbolised both her progress and her perseverance.