- Emily Campbell aims to turn silver in Tokyo into gold in Paris this year
- Campbell has faced obstacles but is determined to inspire others with her journey
- I also have a dream of appearing on Strictly Come Dancing in the future.
As Emily Campbell sits in the dank changing room of a no-frills gym on Alfreton Industrial Estate, her mind wanders to a more glamorous world.
“I want to be on Strictly Come Dancing,'' says the Olympic silver medalist in weightlifting. mail sports. “I like that it’s something you have to train hard for and something that thoroughly humbles you.
“But it's a little bit of glitz and glamor – and I love glitz and glamour. Dressing up in a nice dress. That would be amazing.”
Luckily, Campbell had just donned a nice dress for a special event. mail sports A photo shoot in the middle of the Atlas Workout Warehouse where she dances with five colored weights resembling Olympic rings at her feet.
The 29-year-old also has dark red hair. For Tokyo 2020, I had them dyed red and blue with the Team GB theme and tied into two buns. How about Paris this summer?
“I feel pressured because everyone keeps asking questions!” she laughs. “But I'll pull something special out of my bag, I promise.
“I have some ideas in mind. It might include glitter or sequins.”
It turns out there was a good reason why Schwarzkopf, a global hair color brand, signed a contract with Campbell as an ambassador. It was just one of several commercial deals that have come her way since she became the first British female weightlifter to win a medal at the Olympics three years ago.
“That changed my life from the beginning,” Campbell admits. She said, “I went from being a girl who was never recognized and no one even knew what I was doing to walking down the street and people knowing exactly who I was.
“Since Tokyo, I've done some amazing things, things I never would have imagined. I did Blue Peter. I did a Google ad. I got invited to the GQ Awards. But Vivienne Westwood, Keanu Reeves and Stormzy were all sitting there.
“I'm grateful for everything I've been involved in, but I'm still the Emily Campbell who grew up in Bulwell.”
Campbell grew up modestly on the Snape Wood estate in the Nottinghamshire town, living with his father Trevor, a decorator, his mother Linda, and his younger sister Kelsey, a Jamaican national swimmer.
“It was nice to be in a real town surrounded by real things,” Campbell said. Later his father comes to see Jim.
“It gave me the determination and motivation to work hard and live the best life for myself. But I also had great parents who gave me one chance after another. .And I was very good at trying to grab them.”
Campbell started weightlifting in 2016 while studying at Leeds Beckett University to improve his fitness as a promising shot putter. Therefore, she did not receive her funds when she started her Tokyo campaign.
Instead, she worked full time and called in a few favors, as she had to raise £10,000 just to qualify for the Olympic qualifying tournament.
“I lived at home and my mom and dad's bank was very helpful,” Campbell recalled. Now that he's an athlete funded by the National Lottery, life is easier.
“I also reached out to the local community and a lot of people helped me. The local Bulwell Market gave me lots of free fruit and vegetables, fixed my boots, etc. received support.
“I worked full time at a school for children with behavioral problems and then worked as a receptionist at the University of Nottingham's sports and injury clinic. I did whatever I could to pay for training and matches. Only.”
Eventually, Campbell received a small grant from British Weightlifting to support her Olympic bid, which jealous teammates referred to as “black girl money”.
“Unfortunately, one of my teammates felt that he should have received the money, not me,” Campbell said. “There were some mean comments, but that's life.”
Did she experience other racist comments? “Yes, a lot of them were insidious and indirect,” she admits. “Unfortunately, we still live in a society where some people's views do not align with other people's views.
“That’s why I try so hard to inspire young people of color to achieve what they want to achieve.”
And she faced other obstacles as well.
“Brands were shying away from me because I'm a big guy,” she says.
“Brands have a certain image they want to portray, and if it doesn't fit into that box, it doesn't work for them. There are also trolls who write comments.
“There's a lot of stigma around weightlifting. Boys are allowed to get big and they're really impressive and everyone thinks it's great. But when it comes to girls, there's a lot of stigma around weightlifting. He looks out of shape and looks like he ate too many hamburgers.
“I'm a super heavyweight girl, but I'm at this size to perform. I'm 19th 9lbs, but when I started the sport I was 14th 13lbs, good enough to compete with the best girls in the world. I wasn't moving my body.
“I want to leave a legacy and show people that you can be proud of who you are, even if you don't look like what society says you should look like.” There aren't many athletes of color because of their size. It's all about representation. You can't be invisible.
Campbell, who must eat about 3,300 calories a day, had long been frustrated by the lack of easy access to plus-size sportswear for women. But now that she is the first weightlifter to be sponsored by Nike, she believes she is in a position to make a difference.
“They said they would love for me to be a part of the conversation about what plus-size girls want to wear,” she says. “It’s nice to know that your voice is being heard by such a large company.
“I don't know about that. You might see Nike's Emily Campbell series.”
As well as her own clothing line, Campbell also has ambitions to open a weightlifting gym. But first there's the small matter of turning her silver medal in Tokyo into gold in Paris this summer. That means defeating China's formidable Olympic and world champion Li Wenwen.
“It's going to be difficult,” Campbell says. “She's been one of the most dominant weightlifters for a while. But anything can happen on any given day.”
Campbell took 122kg (19th place 3lbs) in Tokyo and then lifted 161kg (25th place 5lbs) in the clean and jerk for a total weight of 283kg (44th place 8lbs) and Lee's 320kg (50th place 5lbs). It wasn't even close.
A year later, she won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with a career-best total of 286kg (45th place).
Campbell, who won his fourth consecutive European title in Sofia in February, added: “I'm definitely trying harder.”
“I can definitely promise a bigger weight in Paris. My ultimate goal is to win gold at the Olympics.”
On top of that, we also won another glorious prize: the Strictly Glitterball Trophy.
