Emily Campbell Interview – After the 2023 WWC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 

We had a chance to interview a great young British weightlifter Emily Campbell who besides her weightlifting mastery attracts with her open-mindedness, positivity, and vitality. 

Being the first British female in weightlifting who gained an Olympic medal, Emily is also famous for her body-positivity attitude in sports and proactive position in standing for the rights of black people and equality.

With numerous titles under her belt, namely, three-time European Champion, an Olympic silver medalist, a World bronze medalist.

Britain’s first-ever women’s weightlifting Olympic medal winner, Emily became a favorite of many of us.

Missing the Worlds in Riyadh Because of Injury

Our conversation started by outlining the reason for why Emily missed the World Championships in Saudi Arabia as many weightlifting fans had big hopes to see her on the podium.

• You didn’t compete at the WWC in Riyadh, what happened?

“Yeah, I got a back injury. We decided to secure the ranking in the Olympics, that’s an important thing. We’re working hard to get my back under control. It was really difficult to come back into shape and perform to the maximum to get the medal.”

• How are you currently working on your recovery?

“I have some physiotherapy. I’m going back to England for intensive rehab. We’re cooperating closely with the team now, everything is alright. We’re working on the physiological state, nutrition, and training regime. So, we can quickly fix what’s going on.”

Continuing our talk, we wanted to know her best lifts she ever made.

• Can you share your best results in Snatch, Clean & Jerk, squat, and back squat?

“My best ever Snatch is 125 kg, 124 kg last year in Birmingham, 165 kg in Colombia in C&J. My best back squat…I don’t really do back squat…but the best ever was 225 kg, maybe 230 kg for a single. I don’t do front squats anymore, it’s not in my program.” 

• Why?

“We decided it wasn’t very productive, I need to work on the Clean.”

• 165 kg in C&J – that’s impressive..

“Yeah, thanks. In Armenia it was 142 kg and my back issue happened there just before Armenia, 2-3 weeks before. I did my first C&J of 95 kg one day and I did 145 kg the next day.”

Finding Inspiration and Motivation for Gaining New Heights

• How do you prepare yourself mentally for the competition and what drives your motivation during training?

“I do like consistency in training, to work on movement, to feel it, to be sure in every move under the load. When I know the feeling of the weights I’m going to lift, it gives me mental strength. Music is also a great way to be in the proper mood, and also people who surround me, I know that I have a good training group, especially with people of good energy.”

• What kind of music do you listen to during your training?

“My mum is Caribbean, my father is originally from Jamaica, so my favorite music is smth happy, dancing.., festival…. I don’t really mind if someone has their own music. The main thing is a good beat and good energy.”

We also noticed that Emily is interested in other sports besides weightlifting since she has many friends-sportsmen who she supports at each event.

• We noticed that you attend different sports events in England and cheer for your fellow countrymen from different sports disciplines. Do you have many friends among professional athletes?

“Yes, I do. I have a lot of friends from the athletic world, and lots of boxing (by the way, boxing is my favorite sport to watch). I also was invited to Wimbledon, it was really nice to watch some tennis. I love watching high-level sports and enjoy it.”

• We know that you call yourself a “Queen of Sleep”. How many hours of sleep do you have each day?

“Yeah, lots of sleep.. Normally, I get into bed at 9.30 pm….I normally sleep 10-10.30 pm and sleep till 8.30 am. Also, I get a nap normally for an hour in the daytime before or after the training. I love to sleep anywhere and anytime.”

Possessing a Title of a Strong Woman & Body Positivity Views 

• The next question: do you enjoy being a strong woman?

“Yeah, I like it. I’m very empowered to be a strong woman. It’s always nice when people don’t know you’re a strong woman, and then they find out you’re a strong woman.”

• You’re involved in a lot of important conversations about body positivity and inclusivity in the fitness world. Tell us more about it.

“I don’t typically look like an athlete, but my body shape is required for me to do my job.”

“I realized that accessibility to gym kits is ridiculous, so I started calling out certain brands, saying that they need to do better. We need to start smashing these barriers down one by one.”

• Ok, you’re also a pioneer in British women’s weightlifting. How do you hope to inspire future female weightlifters?

“Yeah, I hope that I’m going to inspire women, but also I inspire men too. For me, I’m trying to do the best that I can and hope that this will give them motivation that they can do that, they can achieve that.”

• In the Tokyo Olympics 2020, you became the first British woman to win a medal in female weightlifting. What did that mean to you?

“It’s hard to put that achievement into words. I always want to be the first but definitely not the last. I hope that girls will look and think they can do it too.” 

• You’re an inspiration for many people, but who inspires you?

“Serena Williams is one of the best athletes in the world..Kelly Holmes (middle distance runner), Denise Lewis (former track and field athlete), Jessica Ennis-Hill (track and field athlete)… Faces that look like me, out there doing amazing things. I didn’t realize at the time that they were inspirations until I was older, and I got to meet them and speak to them.”

• What are your future goals in weightlifting and other aspects of your life?

“My future goal is obviously an Olympic medal and to collect as many as possible during the competitions. And I’d like to start a gym at my home city Nottingham, for your development, for young kids to show them how to snatch, clean & jerk, front and back squat, safely from a young age.”

Having left the question of the highest interest for the end, finally, we finally asked about her future goals in weightlifting and other aspects of her life. 

• Do you plan to compete in Qatar?

“I think we’re going to be in Qatar, but it depends on how I’m going to be in the next few weeks .. I hope to compete in Qatar.”

Conclusion

With so numerous wins at national and world championships in several years, and being in professional weightlifting just since 2016, Emily has already shown her power and a great desire to prove to everyone and herself first that she’s ready for even bigger challenges. 

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