Oliver leads GB effort
Jack Oliver starred in a strong Team GB showing at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships.
Last Updated: 19/10/11 5:28pm
Jack Oliver set three personal bests as part of a strong Team GB showing at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in South Africa.
Brits also notched up several personal bests and beat several national age group records as they flew the flag for their home nations.
England's Jack Oliver, from Bexleyheath in Kent, set three new personal bests in the 77kg category. The 20-year-old, who is now training full-time at the High Performance Centre in Leeds, lifted 137kg in the snatch and 160kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 297kg - which was good enough for third overall.
His performance in the snatch and the total were both new British Under-20 and Under-23 records, while his clean and jerk of 160kg was a British under-23 record.
Welshman Gareth Evans - who also trains full time in Leeds - set new personal bests in the snatch as well as the total in the 69kg class. He lifted 121kg in the snatch and 145kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 266kg which gave him third spot overall.
British Weightlifting performance manager Fiona Lothian was happy to see such performances come in the run-up to London 2012.
Contention
"As we enter the qualification period for the London Olympics I am really pleased to see that a number of athletes are now starting to put themselves in contention for the GB team," said Lothian.
"With British Records falling at under-23, junior and youth level, the hard work being put in by athletes, coaches and support staff is starting to pay dividends."
Birmingham's Hannah Powell lifted 80kg in the clean and jerk to set a new personal best in the 48kg bodyweight category. Coupled with a lift of 60kg, she totalled 140kg and was 4th junior, and sixth overall.
Her performance in the clean and jerk and the total lift were both new British Under-20 and Under-23 records.
Fellow English lifter Sonny Webster, 17 and from Devon, was best youth athlete as well as second in both the junior and overall senior competition in the 85kg class, lifting 128kg and 160kg for a 288kg total.
Webster's performances were all new British Under-17 records.
Records
Also breaking records was Welshman Darius Jocarzabeh in the +105kg class, whose clean and jerk of 161kg and total of 286kg were both new British Under-18 records.
And Scotland's Peter Kirkbride finished second in the 94kg class, the 23-year-old from Kilmarnock lifting 145kg and 185kg for a 325kg total.
Fellow Scot Georgina Black won gold in the 75kg class, while Graeme Kane finished sixth.
