Campbell wins final GB medal of Paris Olympics

Emily Campbell claimed Great Britain’s final medal of the Paris Olympics with bronze in the women’s +81kg weightlifting.

Team GB will leave Paris with 65 medals, one more than they won in Tokyo three years ago, when Campbell took +87kg silver.

The 30-year-old finished with a total of 288kg, lifting 126kg in the snatch and 162kg in the clean and jerk.

Campbell celebrated with a cartwheel across the stage before congratulating China’s Li Wenwen, who took gold, and silver medallist Park Hye-jeong of South Korea.

The trio also shared a warm moment on the podium, with Campbell and Park holding out their arms to celebrate Li, who leapt into the air.

It is only the ninth Olympic weightlifting medal GB have ever won, with Campbell the only woman to finish on the podium.

Britain end the Games with 14 golds, 22 silvers and 29 bronze medals.

Campbell is one of Team GB’s stars, an engaging character who has spoken at length about body image and the impact it can have on young girls.

Her motto – “if you look good, you perform good” – was put into practice as she competed with red, white and blue weaved through her trademark buns, with the Olympic rings threaded through her hair at the back.

She lifted her opening weight of 117kg in the snatch with ease, went up to 119kg and then opted for 126kg on her third and final attempt.

Aided by massive British support in the crowd, Campbell roared in celebration after lifting the weight, which put her in third going into the clean and jerk.

She easily lifted her first attempt at 162kg but failed at 169kg and then at 174kg, which would have moved her into second.

Both the snatch and clean and jerk lifts were personal bests for Campbell.

“The standard was so high and I had to pull it out of the bag,” Campbell said.

“In Tokyo I was new to the sport and enjoying things, it was a bonus medal.

“This one has come from the heart.”

Campbell, from Nottingham, only took up the sport when she started university, having initially started it to improve her performance in shot put and the hammer throw.

In only six weeks she had achieved the national championship standard and made her senior debut at the 2018 World Championships.

She has won four straight European titles in this discipline and now has two Olympic medals to go with her Commonwealth gold.