Emily Campbell produces record-breaking performance to win Commonwealth gold

Emily Campbell strode to the stage sporting red and white bunches and some candid advice from weightlifting royalty before delivering a record-breaking performance to add Commonwealth Games gold to her Olympic silver medal.

Campbell’s cumulative total of 286kg from the snatch and clean-and-jerk disciplines set new Games and Commonwealth marks and also saw the 28-year-old eclipse by three kilograms the personal best she had previously set in Tokyo last summer.

Afterwards Campbell paid tribute to four-time Commonwealth champion Precious McKenzie, now 86 years old, who watched from the front row. The pair have been the subjects of a play, ‘Precious Emily’, about their respective routes through the sport which has been staged at West Midlands theatres.

“Precious is immense in his own right,” said Campbell. “His words to me before I came out today were, ‘everybody is expecting you to win – you go out and win.’ I couldn’t have asked for any better advice.

“Precious has done immense things for weightlifting and he’s still here at 86 years old giving back to the sport. When Precious McKenzie tells you to go out and win, you go out and win.”

The 28-year-old Campbell, who had shared flag-bearing duties at last week’s opening ceremony, wrapped up what she described as her “perfect Games” with six consecutive clean lifts that saw her comfortably beat silver medallist Feagaiga Stowers and Australian Charisma Amoe-Tarrant to guarantee gold with two lifts remaining.

Precious is immense in his own right. His words to me before I came out today were, 'everybody is expecting you to win - you go out and win.' When Precious McKenzie tells you to go out and win, you go out and win.- Emily Campbell

It is a mark of Campbell’s surging potential