Emily Campbell has reacted with raw delight at securing a medal in Tokyo, becoming the first British female weightlifter to do so in Olympic history. The 27-year-old entered the history books in her debut appearance at the Olympic Games, winning silver with an impressive lift of 283kg. Ms Campbell sparked wild celebrations as she let out screams of joy at successfully completing the record-breaking clean and jerk lift.
Nottingham-born Campbell found herself in fourth position but set up a podium finish with consecutive clean and jerk lifts weighing in at 156kg and 161kg.
First place was secured by China’s Li Wenwen set a new Olympic record of 320kg on her way to a gold medal.
The final spot on the podium was taken up by team USA’s Sarah Robles who recorded a total of 282kg.
1984 was the last time a Briton has secured a medal in weightlifting and Campbell was delighted with the result.
Ms Campbell later told BBC Sport: “I am speechless, for the first time ever.
“You know you can get in shape coming into these things, you know you want to perform your best, but to actually put it out on the stage, I’m really thrilled.”
She added: “You can achieve anything you want to achieve.
“I picked up a barbell five years ago for the first time and now I am an Olympic silver medallist.”