UK success at the 2023 EWF European Championships

Our athletes brought their A-game to the 2023 European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) Championships, which recently concluded with a stunning display of strength, skill, and determination by our British weightlifters. The event saw some of the best competitors from across the continent go head-to-head, and our athletes rose to the challenge and showcased their abilities on the international stage.

Throughout the competition, our athletes pushed themselves to their limits, displaying impressive feats of strength and technique. And their hard work and dedication paid off – bringing home a number of medals, including gold, silver and bronze in various weight categories and disciplines.

The competition was held in Yerevan, Armenia between 15-25 April. The facilities looked amazing with a fantastic training hall, expansive competition warm up and eye-catching stage backdrop. This set an amazing scene for our athletes to showcase their months of training.

Sunday 16 April

Catrin Jones took to the platform on Sunday 16 April in the women’s 55kg A group. Catrin unfortunately missed her three snatch attempts at 81kg. Despite this, Catrin recomposed and came out fighting in the clean and jerks, going three for three with 96kg, 102kg and 104kg.

Monday 17 April

First up on Monday 17 April was Laura Wheatcroft in the women’s 59kg B group. Laura missed her first snatch attempt of 82kg but came out for the same weight on her second attempt and made it look easy. Laura unfortunately missed her final attempt of 87kg.

In the clean and jerk, Laura went three for three securing 100kg, 104kg then 107kg. This gave Laura a 189kg total, putting her in twelfth place.

Next up was Jess Gordon Brown who competed in the women’s 59kg A group. Jess opened her snatch at 88kg then unfortunately missed her next two attempts at 91kg.

Jess then made her 108kg clean and jerk opener look easy. She went on to match her personal best at 111kg. On her final attempt, Jess cleaned 113kg but just missed out on the jerk. This gave Jess a 199kg total, putting her in sixth place.

Tuesday 18 April

Tuesday saw Jon Chin and Zoe Smith take to the platform.

Jon competed in the men’s 73kg B group. He opened his snatch at 125kg, then went on to make an incredible save at 129kg. He unfortunately missed his final attempt of 132kg.

In the clean and jerk, Jon missed his opener at 164kg, but recomposed and made the weight on his second attempt. Jon then moved up to 168kg for a good lift and a new British record. This gave Jon a 297kg total, putting him in twelfth place.

Zoe lifted in the women’s 64kg A group, snatching 90kg and 93kg, unfortunately missing her final attempt of 95kg.

Zoe then opened her clean and jerk the heaviest in the group with 119kg. She then went on to make 121kg on her second attempt, and unfortunately missed 122kg on her final lift.

This gave Zoe a 214kg total, putting her in third place and giving her two medals: gold in the clean and jerk, and bronze in the total.

Wednesday 19 April

Wednesday 19 April saw Erin Barton and Sarah Davies both compete in the women’s 71kg A group.

Erin snatched 87kg and 91kg, unfortunately missing her final lift of 94kg. In the clean and jerk, Erin made her opener at 118kg, then unfortunately missed her next two attempts at 123kg. This gave Erin a 209kg total, putting her in tenth place.

Sarah snatched 97kg and 100kg, just missing out on her final lift of 102kg. In the clean and jerk, Sarah had issues recovering from her first clean at 126kg. She retook the weight, completing the lift, however the lift was overturned by the jury. Despite this setback, Sarah recomposed and made the weight on her final attempt.

This gave Sarah a 226kg total, putting her in third place overall, giving her two medals: silver in the clean and jerk and bronze overall.

Then it was time for Chis Murray to take to the stage in the men’s 81kg A group. Chris opened his snatch at 142kg then made a second attempt of 147kg, setting a new British record. Chris came out for 151kg on his last lift and just missed the bar behind on the recovery.

This gave Chris a 325kg total, putting him in sixth place.

Thursday 20 April

Stefano Cataldi was due to compete on Thursday 20 April, but unfortunately he had to withdraw due to injury. We wish him all the best in recovery and hope to see him back on the platform soon!

Friday 21 April

Friday 21 April saw Katrina Feklistova and Cyrille Tchatchet II take to the stage.

Katrina lifted in the women’s 81kg A group. In the snatch, Katrina had a textbook opener at 98kg, then unfortunately missed her next two attempts at 101kg and 102kg.

Katrina then went three for three in the clean and jerk, making 118kg, 122kg and 125kg.

This gave Katrina a 223kg total, putting her in fifth place overall at her second international competition.

Cyrille competed in the men’s 96kg A group. Cyrille snatched 152kg and 156kg, and unfortunately missed his last attempt of 160kg.

In the clean and jerk, Cyrille made his first two attempts at 189kg and 194kg. For his final attempt, Cyrille took a British record weight of 198kg for a spin, and after making the clean just missed out on the jerk.

This gave Cyrille a 350kg total putting him in fifth place overall.

Saturday 22 April

On Saturday 22 April, Andy Griffiths took to the platform in the men’s 109kg B group.

Andy snatched 152kg and 156kg, just missing out on his last attempt at 160kg.

In the clean and jerk, Andy completed his first lift of 181kg, but unfortunately the jury overturned the lift. Andy retook this weight, unfortunately missing the attempt. He then came out to lift 182kg but was given a no lift by referees.

Sunday 23 April

Sunday saw Mack Middleton, Gordon Shaw and Emily Campbell take to the platform.

Mack and Gordon both lifted in the men’s 109+kg B group.

Mack missed his opening snatch at 155kg but retook the weight on his second attempt and was successful. He then unfortunately missed his final attempt of 161kg.

In the clean and jerk, Mack missed his opener at 190kg but moved up nonetheless to 193kg, securing a good lift. He then took a huge 202kg attempt but unfortunately missed the lift.

This gave Mack a 348kg total, putting him in eleventh place.

Gordon snatched 164kg and 168kg, unfortunately missing his final attempt at 171kg.

Gordon then missed his clean and jerk opener at 192kg. He came out to lift 193kg that was no lifted by referees, but after a jury stop the lift was overturned and deemed a good lift. Gordon then missed his final attempt of 198kg.

This gave Gordon a 361kg total, putting him in tenth place.

Emily Campbell competed in the women’s 87+kg A group to defend her two time European Champion title. Emily missed her first two snatch attempts at 110kg but came out fighting and made the weight on her final attempt.

In the clean and jerk, Emily made her first lift at 136kg, then took 143kg on her second attempt to secure the gold, then she made the decision to retire her third attempt.

This gave Emily a 253kg total, double gold medal success in the clean and jerk and total, and made her a three time European Champion.

 

The impressive performances ranked GBR in eighth in the medal rankings at the competition.

Stuart Martin, Head of BWL Weightlifting Performance commented “The Competition was one of the largest and most impressive European championships we have attended in recent years. Performing in a venue that hosted an event as large as the Eurovision Song Contest last year is always going to be daunting, but most athletes held their own and delivered close to or in excess of their personal bests.

Strong performances under pressure from Zoe smith and Sarah Davies saw them return to international medal winning form.

Outstanding performances from Jonathan Chin, Chris Murray and Katrina Feklistova delivered personal best performances and British records for the trio with Chris and Katrina also narrowly missing out on medals with their final attempts for snatch alongside Cyrille Tchatchet II who was also close with his final clean & jerk attempt.

And last but not least Emily Campbell after a tough period of training coming back from injury and very little weightlifting to deliver a memorable performance under pressure against some strong opponents from the Ukraine and Georgia to secure her third European title,firmly reminding us  of the calibre of lifter she is.

These fantastic performances built on last year’s results at the European Championships, where we attained 3 medals for Emily Campbell’s snatch, clean and jerk and total. This year we secured 6 medals, and moving forward we look to build on this.”

British Weight Lifting congratulates our athletes on their performances at the 2023 EWF European Championships and look forward to seeing them continue to make their mark on the international weightlifting scene in the years to come.