Emily Campbell (born 6 May 1994) is a British

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

, the most successful British weightlifter of modern times. She is a Commonwealth and five-time European champion, and a double World and Olympic medalist. In 2021, competing in the +87 kg category, Campbell became both European champion, and the first British woman to win an Olympic medal in the sport, with silver at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo. In 2022 she retained her European title, won the Gold medal at her home

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

in a new Commonwealth Games record, and upgraded her 2021 World Championships bronze medal to a silver in Bogota. In 2023, Campbell confirmed a hat-trick of three successive European titles, before in 2024 recreating her 2021 success, winning her fourth consecutive European title and her second Olympic medal, a bronze in the +81 kg category at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in Paris. In 2025 a fifth consecutive European title came.

Biography

Campbell is from the Snape Wood estate in

Bulwell Bulwell is a market town and former civil parish in the Nottingham district, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. It is south-west of Hucknall and to the north-west of Nottingham. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded the p ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. She graduated from

Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the Leeds city centre, city centre and Hea ...

with a Sports Science degree in 2016. Campbell competed in the women's +90 kg event at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

, winning the bronze medal. In the following year she came third in the 2019 European Championships gaining another bronze medal. In early 2021 she became the European champion after winning in Moscow in the +87 kg category. At the

in Tokyo (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Campbell became the first British female weightlifter to win a medal at the Olympics, with a silver in the women's +87 kg event. Later that year, she went on to earn a bronze medal at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She won the gold medal in her event at the 2022 European Weightlifting Championships held in Tirana, Albania and retained her title, with a somewhat reduced lift, in 2023 in Yerevan, Armenia. The

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA; ) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It represents the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), but also incorporate represen ...

chose Campbell as

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. ...

's only weightlifter at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the +81 kg category. At the Games she won a bronze medal setting a new combined personal best of 288 kg in the process. Back at the +87 kg category, Campbell won her fifth consecutive European title in Chișinău, Moldova, in April 2025 with a combined total of 281 kg. She is the first British lifter to achieve this feat. In July 2025, Campbell was awarded a honorary doctorate by her former university, Leeds Beckett for her service to sport and advocacy for inclusion.

Achievements

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Emily 1994 births Living people Alumni of Leeds Beckett University English female weightlifters Sportspeople from Nottingham Weightlifters at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England European Weightlifting Championships medalists Weightlifters at the 2020 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic weightlifters for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in weightlifting Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Bulwell English Olympic competitors Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games 21st-century English sportswomen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in weightlifting Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in weightlifting