Emily Campbell retains Commonwealth weightlifting title with record total

England's Emily Campbell successfully defended her Commonwealth Games title in the women's +86kg weightlifting category on Thursday, winning gold with a Games-record total of 278kg. The 32-year-old, who also won gold in Birmingham four years ago, broke the Commonwealth record in the clean and jerk with 163kg, while posting a snatch of 115kg.

“As an athlete, you always want to give your best performance, but the reason I've stayed in the sport so long is because I still genuinely enjoy lifting,” Campbell said. She added that she wanted to show people “you can love what you do and still be absolutely fabulous while you're doing it.”

Campbell's total was 25kg ahead of Malaysia's Siti Aqilah Farhana Draman, who took silver with 253kg. Canadian teenager Etta Mae Love earned bronze with 250kg.

Campbell was the last athlete to lift, with her hair dyed bright red and braided with lions in a nod to England's colours. After failing her second snatch attempt at 114kg, she made 115kg on her third try—a result matched by New Zealand's Tui-Alofa Patolo, who missed the medals with a 245kg total.

In the clean and jerk, Campbell needed only 138kg to beat Draman. She opened with 148kg, then 155kg, and finished with a personal best of 163kg, prompting loud cheers at the Armadillo venue.

“The atmosphere out there was incredible. You couldn't really ask for the crowd to be any louder—I could barely hear myself think,” Campbell said. “Representing England means everything to me. The Commonwealth Games are incredibly special. In 2018, I really started believing in myself and realised I could do this. Without those Games, I don't think I'd have achieved what I have now. Whenever I represent my flag, I do it with pride.”