Tokyo 2020 – Emily Campbell makes British weightlifting history with silver as Laurel Hubbard misses out
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Updated 02/08/2021 at 17:40 GMT
Campbell screamed for joy after lifting a huge 161kg in the clean and jerk that guaranteed her an Olympic medal. And the colour of that medal was confirmed as silver, much to the delight of the Nottingham lifter. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.
'What a lift!' - GB's Campbell makes history winning weightlifting silver
Team GB’s Emily Campbell won Great Britain’s first ever Olympic medal in women’s weightlifting, taking a brilliant silver in the women’s +87kg weightlifting.
Campbell screamed for joy after lifting a huge 161kg in the clean and jerk that guaranteed her an Olympic medal. And the colour of that medal was confirmed as silver, much to the delight of the Nottingham lifter.
The 27-year-old’s medal is the first in British weightlifting since David Mercer in 1984 and the first ever for a British woman.
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Wenwen Li of Team China competes during the Weightlifting - Women's 87kg+ Group A on day ten of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo International Forum on August 02, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan
Image credit: Getty Images
But it was China’s Li Wenwen who took gold, producing a dominant performance that lived up to her billing as pre-tournament favourite for gold. USA’s Sarah Robles finished in third to collect bronze.
Wenwen reduced the weight of her opening lift to get a score on the board and move into a lead in the competition.
But that proved to be just a warm-up for the 21-year-old, who cruised up through the weights with apparent ease, succeeding with an Olympic record 173 clean and jerk before returning with a sensational success in 180 to add gloss to her gold medal performance.
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Laurel Hubbard of Team New Zealand competes during the Weightlifting - Women's 87kg+ Group A on day ten of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo International Forum on August 02, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan
Image credit: Getty Images
Pre-Olympic headline maker Laurel Hubbard failed to medal in Tokyo, bowing out of the competition with a smile and wave to the crowd.
Hubbard became the first transgender sportsperson to be selected for an Olympic Games when she was named in the New Zealand team earlier this summer.
The 43-year-old, who transitioned in 2012, recovered from a serious injury in 2018 to become one of the contenders to medal going into the Tokyo Games.
But Hubbard failed at the 125kg weight to miss out on a medal in Japan.
Canadian footballer Quinn will become the first trans athlete to win an Olympic medal later this week after Canada beat the USA on Monday to reach the women’s football final and guarantee them at least a silver medal.
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