UK Sport Continues to Support Weightlifting & Para Powerlifting

British Weight Lifting is delighted to confirm that today UK Sport has decided to support the launch of an exciting new Olympic Weightlifting programme and increase their support of our current World Class Performance Programme for Paralympic Powerlifting for the 2021-24 Paris funding cycle

Ashley Metcalfe, BWL CEO

“We are delighted that UK Sport has continued to show a confidence in our athletes, coaches and support teams and today’s decisions fully endorse the progress that has been made in both Para-Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting over the last 4 years.

“The Paralympic Powerlifting Programme has been hugely successful throughout the last decade, producing multiple medals at London 2012, Glasgow 2014, Rio 2016 and the Gold Coast in 2018 and this increased support will allow further development and accelerate the progress of the next generation of talented young lifters. Earlier this year our team topped the medal table at the Manchester World Cup which they are hoping to replicate at the 2021 World Cup in March.

“It also fantastic news that UK Sport has identified Weightlifting as a sport with the potential to deliver Olympic ambitions over the next 12 years. The introduction of Progression Funding will allow the sport to develop a new athlete-focussed infrastructure that can build on the successes at the most recent Commonwealth Games, European and World events.

“With this future support, we will continue to build upon the solid foundations in both sports. We are under no illusion the hard work starts now but we are looking forward to the challenges and producing results that we can all be proud of and inspire the next generations.”

Angus Kinnear BWL Independent Chairman

“This is fantastic news for the future of Olympic Weightlifting & Paralympic Powerlifting within the UK. It is brilliant that British Weight Lifting are able to continue to provide opportunities for our athletes and with UK Sport support to help them realise their Olympic hopes & Paralympic dreams.

“We are acutely aware that we are living in extremely challenging circumstances and there is huge demand for public investment in the wake of the COVID?19 pandemic. We remain extremely grateful for this support and will do our utmost to repay the faith shown in our sports.”