A NEW generation of weightlifters were crowned British Champions at the 2013 Championships in Bangor on Saturday, with just three athletes retaining their titles from 12 months earlier.
A combination of withdrawals and under-par performances from the pre-event favourites left the door open for other athletes to stake their claim for a British title, and several grasped that chance with both hands.
Crystal Palace lifter Jo Calvino won her 18th British title in the 53kg class, lifting 65kg and 86kg for a total of 151kg – a weight which would also have given her victory in the 58kg and 63kg categories too.
Other new British Champions from Crystal Palace were Mehmed Fikretov from in the 69kg class and Mercy Brown in the 75kg class.
Overall, Crystal Palace won the team prize with 133 points, just one point ahead of Kilmarnock, while Stars for the Future were third with 104.
However, there was disappointment for a number of World Class Programme (WCP) funded athletes, including Crystal Palace's Emily Godley who failed to register a total.
Other WCP athletes Zoe Smith (Europa), Gareth Evans (Holyhead) and Darius Jokarzadeh (Cardiff) all withdrew from the event because of injury or illness.
"A number of lifters have put themselves in a position to be selected for the World Championships, from performances at both the British Championships and earlier in the year," said British Weight Lifting Performance Director Tommy Yule.
"It is disappointing that a number of our best lifters had to pull out, but injuries are a part of elite sport and it is one of our objectives to support the lifter with injury risk management."
And Ashley Metcalfe, Chief Executive of BWL, added: "These are exciting times for weightlifting.
"Participation continues to be on the up and these Championships have shown we have an exciting new wave of talented weightlifters coming through the ranks which is great news for the sport.
"It is never a bad thing for the senior lifters to be pushed by the new talent and reminded they cannot rest on their laurels."
