Huge Congratulation to all DSA members who recently competed in the World Para Powerlifting Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia between 27 November – 5 December.

In total 8 DSAuk members competed for Team GB which made up more than 50% of the squad.

First up was the Junior competition which saw Charlotte McGuinness, Olivia Broome, Tom Smith and Mark Swan take centre stage.

First to lift was Tom Smith in the up to 54kg category where he managed 3 good lifts with a best of 130kg and enough to secure the top spot. Next up was Mark Swan in the up to 65kg category and he also managed 3 good lifts with a best of 175kg and enough to take home the gold.

Next up was the ladies both competing in the up to 50kg category. Olivia won the junior worlds as well as breaking her own junior world record not once but twice and Charlotte was successful in lifting 80kg which is a new PB and enough to secure her the Silver medal.

On Day 1 of the senior competition Zoe Newson won a silver medal in the up to 45kg category with a best lift of 94kg. A day later Olivia and Charlotte both competed in the Senior competition. Olivia won a silver medal in the women’s 50kg senior championships where all lifts were successful (102kg, 104kg, 107kg). Charlotte managed another good lift of 80kg finishing 11^th in the world.

On Day 3 of the competition Kim Dean competed in the up to 61kg category. Kim had 2 good lifts with a best of 86kg, taking 9^th spot. The following day Rebecca Bedford competed in the up to 67kg with a best lift of 87kg which was a new PB and a new British Record finishing 18^th overall.

Day 5 of the competition saw Matthew Harding make his GB team and international debut in his first ever competition. Matthew competed in the senior up to 72kg category, achieving 3 good lifts of 144kg, 150kg and 155kg and finishing a well earned 16th place overall.

Mark Swan also competed again on the 5^th day of competition in the senior up to 65kg category, he finished 4^th with a best lift of 192kg. There was only 2kg between the top 4 in the world.

The DSAuk are extremely proud of all our athletes and are looking forward to welcoming British Weightlifting to our National Games next year. They will be coming along not only to support our powerlifting competition but also to provide    opportunities for our members to try out the sport.