England Weight Lifting Commonwealth Team announcement

We are delighted to announce that twenty one athletes have officially qualified for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Seven women and seven men have been selected for weightlifting, and four women and three men have been selected for para powerlifting to represent England at this year’s Commonwealth Games.

 

Weightlifting
Athlete	Category (kg)
Noorin Gulam	49
Fraer Morrow	55
Jessica Gordon-Brown	59
Zoe Smith	64
Deborah Alawode	76
Emily Sweeney	87
Emily Campbell	87+
Benjamin Hickling	55
Jaswant Shergill	67
Jack Oliver	73
Christopher Murray	81
Cyrille Tchatchet II	96
Andrew Griffiths	109
Gordon Shaw	109+
Para Powerlifting
Athlete	Category
Olivia Broome	Lightweight
Zoe Newson	Lightweight
Rebecca Bedford	Heavyweight
Louise Sugden	Heavyweight
Mark Swan	Lightweight
Matthew Harding	Lightweight
Liam McGarry	Heavyweight

 

Weightlifting

Noorin Gulam is ranked number 1 in England and the UK in the women’s 49kg category. Noorin’s best in-competition total in the 49kg category was 160kg, which she made after a 71kg snatch and a 89kg clean and jerk at the 2022 England Commonwealth Trials.

Fraer Morrow is ranked third on the IWF Commonwealth rankings in the women’s 55kg category. Fraer secured this spot with her performance at the 2021 British Championships, where she made a 195kg total. Fraer’s best in-competition total as a 55kg lifter is 196kg, which she made at the 2021 English Championships following a 87kg snatch and a 109kg clean and jerk.

Fraer said on her selection, “I’m really excited for the commonwealth games, especially it being a home games! My coach says the atmosphere at a home games is like no other!
I’m feeling so motivated and ready to get on the platform already. Training is going well, my numbers are increasing slowly so just need a good performance on the day! Obviously, the goal is to get that gold medal.”

Jessica Gordon-Brown is ranked number 1 in England and the UK in the women’s 59kg category. Jess’s best in-competition total is 202kg, which she made at this year’s England Commonwealth Trials after a 91kg snatch and a 111kg clean and jerk.

Zoe Smith is top ranked in the UK in the women’s 64kg category. Zoe’s best in-competition total as a 64kg lifter is 225kg. This incredible total was made at the 2019 British International Open, where she snatched 100kg and clean and jerked 125kg.

Deborah Alawode is currently ranked second in England and the UK in the women’s 76kg category. Debbie’s best in-competition total is 211kg, which she made earlier this year at the England Commonwealth Trials following a 94kg snatch and a 117kg clean and jerk.

We asked Debbie for her thoughts on her selection: “I'm feeling extremely excited for the Commonwealth Games. If you'd told me 18 months ago that I'd be preparing to represent my country at the most prestigious multi-sport competition behind the Olympics, I'd have probably laughed. But here we are! Training is going extremely well at the moment. I've recently started working with an insanely talented new physio, and I'm already seeing the benefits in my lifting! A massive goal of mine is to medal at the CWG, so I'll definitely be putting in the work over the next few months to make that dream a reality”

Emily Sweeney is top ranked in the women’s 87kg category. Emily’s best in-competition total is 211kg, which she made at the England Commonwealth Trials this year after a 93kg snatch and a 117kg clean and jerk.

Emily said on her selection “I am so excited and grateful to be given this incredible opportunity to represent England in this home Games later in the year. Being able to represent your country is such a privilege and I can’t wait to step on that platform in August, surrounded by some amazing teammates, coaches and supporters.

After the Trials Event for the Games I competed in the World Junior Championships in Greece which was a great competition and I gained some valuable international experience. Now that I am back on home soil I’m getting stuck into training and hoping for some big numbers.

My main goal for the Games is to be the best athlete I can be and truly enjoy my first Commonwealth Games.”

Emily Campbell is ranked number 1 on the IWF Commonwealth rankings list in the women’s 87+kg category. Emily’s best in-competition total is 283kg, which she made at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after a 121kg snatch and an incredible 161kg clean and jerk.

Benjamin Hickling is currently ranked first in the UK in the men’s 55kg category. Ben’s best in-competition total as a 55kg lifter is 211kg, which he made at this year’s England Commonwealth Trials following a 96kg snatch and a 115kg clean and jerk.

Jaswant Shergill is currently ranked number 1 in the UK in the men’s 67kg category. Jaswant’s best in-competition total is 265kg, which he made up with a 117kg snatch and a 148kg clean and jerk at this year’s England Commonwealth Trials.

Here are Jaswant’s thoughts on his selection “Gaining selection for the Games is a special achievement to me. Not just because of the prestige of the event, but as a summation of the growth I had to undergo to make it happen. After spending a year battling injury, I spent 5 months completely committed to becoming the best I can be and I came out the other side the best I've ever been. My mindset for the Games will be the same to be totally immersed in the process of becoming better.”

Jack Oliver is currently ranked first in the UK in the men’s 73kg category. Jack’s best in-competition total as a 73kg lifter is 296kg, which he made earlier this year at the England Commonwealth Trials, with a 135kg snatch and 161kg clean and jerk.

Chris Murray is currently ranked number 1 in the UK in the men’s 81kg category. Chris’s best in-competition total as a 81kg lifter is 315kg, a total he made at this year’s England Commonwealth Trials after a 140kg snatch and 175kg clean and jerk.

Cyrille Tchatchet II is currently ranked first in the UK in the men’s 96kg category. Cyrille’s best in-competition total as a 96kg lifter is 350kg, after he snatched 160kg and clean and jerked 190kg in the 2021 Virtual British Championships.

Cyrille said on his selection “It is always an honour to represent your country. I feel honoured and privileged to be selected to represent Team England at the games.
I want to send a special thank you to British Weightlifting for giving me this opportunity and for their support throughout these years.
Competing and winning a commonwealth games medal is a dream. I hope that this dream will come through in Birmingham.
Birmingham saw me in my darkest times and it's only fair for Birmingham to see me on that podium. This will send a message of hope and solidarity to the underprivileged and also to those who suffer/suffered any form of mental illness.”

Andrew Griffiths is currently ranked number 1 in the UK in the men’s 109kg category. Andy’s best in-competition total is 341kg, a total he made earlier this year at the England Commonwealth Trials after a 156kg snatch and a 185kg clean and jerk.

Gordon Shaw is currently ranked first in the UK in the men’s 109+ category. Gordon’s best in competition total as a 109+kg lifter is 351kg, which he made earlier this year at the British Championships with a 162kg snatch and a 189kg clean and jerk.

Para powerlifting

Paralympian and World Junior Champion Olivia Broome will be competing in the women’s lightweight category. Olivia’s best in competition bench is 107kg, which she made at the 2021 World Championships.

Triple Paralympian Zoe Newson will be competing what will be her second Commonwealth Games in the Women’s lightweight category. Zoe’s best I competition bench is 102kg, which she made at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.

Rebecca Bedford will be taking to the stage in the women’s heavyweight category. Rebecca’s best in competition bench is 92kg, which she made at the 2021 test event at Loughborough University.

Silver Commonwealth medallist Lou Sugden will be competing at Birmingham in the women’s Heavyweight category. Lou’s best in competition bench is 131kg, which she made at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Junior World Champion Mark Swan will be competing in the men’s lightweight category. Mark’s best in competition bench is 196kg, which he made at the 2021 test event at Loughborough University.

Mattie Harding will make his Commonwealth debut in the men’s lightweight category. Mattie’s best in competition bench is 170kg, which he made a the 2021 test event at Loughborough University.

British record holder Liam McGarry will compete in the men’s heavyweight category. Liam’s best in competition bench is 220kg, which he made at the 2021 World Championships in Tbilisi.

 

British Weight Lifting would like to congratulate all athletes selected and wish them all the best in training in the lead up to the Birmingham Games.