Tokyo Olympics: Emily Campbell becomes first British female weightlifter to win Olympic medal

Emily Campbell became the first British female weightlifter to win an Olympic medal with +87kg silver.

The 27-year-old lifted a total of 283kg as China's Li Wenwen won gold with a new Olympic record of 320kg.

Campbell, making her Olympic debut in Tokyo, was fourth after the snatch but moved on to the podium with successive clean and jerk lifts of 156kg and 161kg.

American Sarah Robles won bronze with a total of 282kg.

"I am speechless, for the first time ever," Campbell told BBC Sport.

"You know you can get in shape coming into these things, you know you want to perform your best, but to actually put it out on the stage, I'm really thrilled."

She added: "You can achieve anything you want to achieve. I picked up a barbell five years ago for the first time and now I am an Olympic silver medallist."

Earlier in the competition, transgender athlete Laurel Hubbard failed to record a successful lift. The New Zealander was the first openly transgender athlete to compete at an Olympics in a different gender category to the one in which they were born.

Campbell's total set new British and Commonwealth records and was Great Britain's first Olympic weightlifting medal since 1984.

She won European gold in April, three years after winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games.

Before the Tokyo Olympics, she told BBC Sport that a big part of her motivation was "to prove that women who look like me can have successful careers in sport".

Since her Commonwealth bronze, Nottingham-born Campbell said she had been approached by multiple sponsors who subsequently pulled out because of her clothing size.

She is trying to make an impact in the world of women's fashion by changing the perception around clothing sizes, and has contacted sports brands to try to get them to produce clothing for women with fuller figures.

'She comes from a home of grafters'

Campbell was cheered on from her native Nottingham by her family - including mum Linda and younger sister Kelsie, who had flown over from Florida.

"It was nerves, excitement; once she got the first lift in I was like, 'she's got this'," Linda told the BBC's Today at the Games.

"Right from a very early age we just got them involved in everything. She loved athletics and only got into weightlifting for the athletics and found her niche, love and passion."

For Kelsie, seeing her big sister become the first British female weightlifter to secure an Olympic medal was an achievement she will never forget.

"This has been the most special day of my life. That's my big sister. She's my rock," she said.

"She's there for me. I know how hard she has worked. I was really nervous - I wanted it so much for her. I wanted to help her lift them.

"The message from her is you can be successful and be anything you want if you put your mind to it.

"She comes from a home of grafters - from parents who haven't always had the world but found a way to make it happen. She can be an inspiration to kids."

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