By Rob Cole
Team Wales Commonwealth Games weightlifter Tayla Howe picked up a British Senior title at the weekend as she won the 75kg class with more than 20kgs to spare.
The 21-year-old personal trainer from Swansea dominated the event as she snatched 93kg and then posted a 105kg lift in the clean and jerk for a total of 198kg. Howe finished sixth in the 90kg class at the Gold Coast, finishing with a total of 207kg (92 / 115).
One of Howe’s Team Wales colleagues, Bangor University psychology student Catrin Jones, finished fourth at the World Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The 19-year-old got to within 1kg of the total she posted in finishing 11th in the 53kg category at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April.
Jones matched her personal best in the clean & jerk with a lift of 93kg and was 1kg down on her snatch total earlier in the year with 71kg to post a total of 164kg. It was still an outstanding performance from the former Commonwealth Youth champion.
Surodchana Khambao, of Thailand, won with a total of 197kg having snatched 87kg and clean & jerked 110kg. That put her 5kg clear of American rival Jourdan De la Cruz (86 / 107 = 193kg) with Colombia’s Yenny Sinisterra Torres in the bronze medal position with a total of 188.
Other Welsh medallists at the British championships included 16-year-old Ellie Pryor with a silver in the 53kg class, (63 / 84 = 147kg) thanks to an 8kg personal best total.
Meanwhile, Christie-Marie Williams was third in the 63kg class with a personal best total (84 / 98 = 182kg).
In the Parapowerlifting section, Nerys Pearce won silver in the 62kg category with 80kg, while Francesca Antoniazzi also finished second with a PB of 51kg in the lighter weight category.