Powerlifting trio secure Commonwealth medals
England's Louise Sugden won Commonwealth Games silver in the heavyweight Para-powerlifting after team-mates Zoe Newson and Ali Jawad took bronze in their events.
Sugden lifted her way to heavyweight silver – less than a year since first taking up the sport. Newson earlier won bronze in the women's lightweight final and Rio silver medallist Jawad won men's lightweight bronze for the second consecutive Games.
Sugden completed a superb round, finding herself on the Commonwealth podium less than a year since switching her sporting focus.
Known for her skills with ball in hand as a basketball player, the 33-year-old represented ParalympicsGB at both the Beijing and London Paralympic Games but decided to pursue a new passion.
With a best lift of 103kg it’s a transition that certainly proved worthwhile.
Louise Sugden said:
“I decided I needed a different challenge, and turns out I’m quite naturally strong, so we’re just working to get me even stronger.
"Starting a new sport and winning the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games at 33 - if you told me a year ago that was going to happen, I wouldn’t have believed you at all.
"When the referee shouted, ‘good lift’ after the 103kg. I think that’s the moment there, right there, that I realised how memorable this is.”
Jawad – a bronze medallist in Glasgow four years ago and then a silver medallist at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games had serious flare up of the illness, which left him contemplating retirement last year but, after a best lift of 161kg for a total of 182.7 points, Jawad is feeling better than ever.
Ali Jawad said:
“After Rio I had a massive flare up, I tried to come back but I failed again – my career was pretty much over last year and I don’t really know how I have come back.
“I have only been back six or seven weeks so just to make it on the plane was a miracle – but to perform like that and get this medal is unbelievable.
“I had to think about those dark times and what got me through it – I was never supposed to make it and I think that is what drove me. I wanted to be here and I wanted to compete."
There was also success for Paralympic bronze medallist Newson, lifting 91kg to comfortably take herself into third place.
The 26-year-old completed the full set of medals in the process, with this adding to the Paralympic, world and European silverware she already possesses.
