- First British female Olympic weightlifting medallist
- 27-year-old inspired by ‘This Girl Can’ campaign
With one extraordinary act of strength and defiance, Emily Campbell ripped a 161kg barbell off the floor, rested it on her shoulders, and began to squat. With another she exploded upwards to thrust the weight – more than two beer kegs worth put together – high above her head.
There was a little wobble of the knees. A steadying smile. Then a beep. And, just like that, Britain had its first ever female Olympic weightlifting medallist – and surely its most powerful, heartwarming and potentially life-changing story of these Games.
