Starting her athletic journey competing in shot put, discus and hammer, she switched to weightlifting by chance when she started university and discovered Olympic lifting through CrossFit. 

We are talking about Emily Campbell, the only female Olympic medallist in the history of British weightlifting after winning silver in Tokyo three years ago. Her conqueror there was Wenwen from China, a 24st colossus of furious strength, and they will be battling again in Paris 2024.

The proud Nottingham native shot to prominence at the 2021 European Weightlifting Championships. Campbell delivered one of Team GB’s moments of the Games in Tokyo with successive lifts of 156kg and 161kg securing our first medal in the sport since 1984.

Since Tokyo, Campbell has cemented her place among the world’s very best lifters. She won world bronze and silver in 2021 and 2022 respectively and made it four straight European titles in 2024. Campbell’s training involves two-hour lifting sessions five times a week and she consumes 3,300 calories per day to perform at her best.

Now, in an interview on The Independent, she says that “Nothing’s a given. If there’s an opportunity for me to win that gold on the day, you know that my team will put it on the bar and I will give it my best crack. Hopefully, I’ll stand up with it”.

Her victor Li was far superior to Emily Campbell in Tokyo, who won by 37 kg. She is now 29 kg ahead of her closest rival in the Paris ranking, Korea's Park Hyejeong. "I still have room for improvement," said Li, who described her World Cup victory as "one of my best performances in the last four years", according to the IWF.

She also had time to talk about her rise, which has been fuelled by a positive outlook on life and on sport. Campbell has been the victim of online abuse and body shaming along the way, and has risen above it to become an inspirational figure who exudes body positivity, proud to be one of the most powerful women on the planet. 

“I’ve had two amazing parents that have always raised me to believe in how unique I am and to capitalise on that,” she says to the Independent.

As a long distance objective, Campbell already has her life after sport mapped out and plans to open a gym that teaches children the core techniques for lifting weights and all the health benefits they bring. 

“People don’t know that kids can start weightlifting from around six, seven years old. We have technique bars, we have bumper plates. It’s not about the weight that they lift, it’s about the body awareness. 

"It’s about being able to move the body properly. It’s about physical literacy. It’s about kids knowing that movement, fitness and sport is important for everybody in life," she concludes.