England's Emily Campbell successfully defended her Commonwealth Games super-heavyweight title in Glasgow on Thursday, winning the women's +86kg competition at the SEC Armadillo. The victory gave the double Olympic medallist a second consecutive Commonwealth gold and completed weightlifting's five-day programme at the 2026 Games.
Campbell entered the final as the clear favourite after winning the corresponding +87kg title at Birmingham 2022 with a Commonwealth record. Team England and the International Weightlifting Federation had identified the 32-year-old as one of the leading figures of the Glasgow competition, where revised international weight categories placed her in the +86kg division.
The Nottingham-born lifter produced a controlled performance in front of the home-nation crowd and secured the title through the combined total of her best snatch and best clean and jerk. Malaysian lifter Siti Aqilah Farhana Draman took silver, extending Malaysia's strong weightlifting campaign at the Games. Organisers' results confirmed Campbell at the top of the final standings.
Campbell's result adds to a career that already includes Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020, Olympic bronze at Paris 2024 and six European titles. Her Tokyo medal made her the first British woman to win an Olympic weightlifting medal, while her latest European championship came in the +86kg class in Batumi in April 2026.
The gold also carried added significance because Campbell served as an official athlete ambassador for Glasgow 2026. She had won bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games before taking gold four years later, and arrived in Scotland as one of Team England's most experienced competitors. Her successful defence preserved an unbeaten Commonwealth run since Birmingham.
Weightlifting concluded on July 30 after sixteen medal events staged from July 26 at the SEC Armadillo. Attention at the Games now shifts toward the remaining athletics, cycling, boxing, judo, bowls and netball competitions before the closing programme on August 2, while Campbell's result stands as one of England's headline achievements of the final week.
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