The latest Home Nations Open brought together athletes from across Wales, England, and Ireland for a highly competitive weekend of weightlifting, with personal bests, national records and impressive medal winning performances on show. This continues to represent the strength of the sport across Wales and the Home Nations.

Hosted at the excellent facility of Llanelli Weightlifting Academy in Carmarthenshire, the event attracted a strong field of lifters ranging from emerging talent to experienced international and development squad athletes. What was brilliant to see, was some athletes competing at a Tier 2 event for the first time, further developing their progress at club level onto the national stage. The competition also served as an important opportunity for athletes targeting future national selection and helping to climb up the rankings.

Across the weekend, there were a good amount of spectators in attendance who helped to generate a great noise of support for all lifters. They were all treated to a number of outstanding performances, with some sessions delivering exciting battles for podium positions.

Among the highlights from the results themselves were the awardees for best male and female lifter from the competition. These included: 

Best Female Lifter - Mercy Brown 

(102/130, 232kg total), 240.92 Sinclair score

Best Male Lifter - Garin Beams

(105/130, 235kg total), 327.62 Sinclair score

Also in Llanelli we saw new Welsh Lifting Records that were broken. These consisted of:

• Rosie Richards - 29kg snatch, 39kg clean & jerk, 68kg total (Girls Under 15's, W40kg class)
• Macey Williams - 54kg snatch (Girls Under 15's, W58kg class)
• Meg Gwyther - 102kg clean & jerk, 68kg total (Women's Under 20's, W69kg class)
• Jac Esen - 90kg snatch, 120kg clean & jerk, 210kg total (Boys Under 15's, M88+kg class)

A huge well done to those athletes, as well as everyone else who competed and set personal milestones through personal bests, and showing promising signs of progression.

Our Home Nations Open events are starting to establish itself as one of the key competitions on the domestic calendar, providing athletes with a high-quality competitive environment and the opportunity to compete against lifters from across the Wales and beyond.

Weightlifting Wales Event Manager, Jake Eastwood gave his thoughts from the weekend:

"Once again, the Home Nations Open showcased the strength of weightlifting across our nation, We were delighted to welcome athletes, coaches and supporters from across the Home Nations, (as well as further afield with three Weightlifting Ireland lifters) and witness such a high standard of competition throughout the weekend.

The performances on display reflected the dedication of athletes and coaches working hard within clubs and performance programmes within our setup. Events like this are vital in supporting athlete development and strengthening our weightlifting community."

We hope everyone enjoyed the competition, and it was a satisfying experience for all involved. Attention already turns to our next national competition weekend in September at Bangor.

Thank You

Weightlifting Wales would like to thank all athletes, coaches, technical officials, volunteers, loaders, event staff and spectators who contributed to the success of the competition.

Special thanks also go to the host venue, Llanelli Weightlifting Academy, and all their team for their support in delivering a fantastic weekend of weightlifting.

Full competition results are available to view via the 'competition results' page of our website.

competition results

Celebrating Support from The National Lottery & Welsh Government

Weightlifting Wales is a proud recipient of National Lottery and Welsh Government funding, which plays a vital role in helping us be able to deliver our national competition weekends.

For over 30 years, The National Lottery has been a game changer for Welsh sport – funding elite athletes, supporting grassroots clubs, and investing in world-class facilities. This continued investment allows us to provide opportunities for people of all ages and abilities, from community programmes to international pathways.

Thanks to this public investment, we can support more lifters, coaches, and volunteers, and create inclusive environments where strength brings people together.

You can find out more about how National Lottery players are making amazing things happen across the UK by visiting www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.