Jonathan Chin: Weightlifter and medical student wins 'amazing' medal at Commonwealth Championships

Jonathan Chin set a new British record for the 73kg category at the European Weightlifting Championships in April

Weightlifter Jonathan Chin said he's enjoying the most successful year of his career so far after taking a first major medal at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in India.

The 29-year-old, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Bristol, won silver in the men's 73kg category.

The tournament takes place in the three years between Commonwealth Games.

Chin lifted 125kg in the snatch and 161kg in the clean and jerk, totalling 286kg to take second place.

The medal comes after Chin set two new British records in April at the European Weightlifting Championships.

"It feels amazing, it's my first international medal so that's always exciting and I think given the context of where this competition was in relation to my medical school exams, coming to the end of the academic year," Chin told BBC Sport.

"My performances had somewhat plateaued a little bit especially after coming out of Covid, with training being sub-optimal.

"This year especially I've been able to get back into a good rhythm, train consistently and so far - it's only halfway through the year - but it's definitely been the most successful year of my weightlifting journey so far.

"I'm hoping to build on that and then work to the Commonwealth Games if it goes ahead. But I'm hoping that it does and that will be something I will definitely build towards."

Chin described himself as a relative latecomer to the sport in 2016. He was previously a sprinter and ran with the university team and a local club, but a hamstring injury forced him into the gym for rehabilitation and strength training.

He was encouraged to try weightlifting and rapidly that took over from athletics and at his second competition at the British Championships in 2018 he took home a bronze medal.

"That gave me a little bit perspective of what maybe I could do in the sport. I was a good sprinter but I was never anywhere near the top of the national rankings," Chin said.

'From the wards to the gym'

Chin has just completed his exams at the end of his fourth year of medical school

Chin has a year of his degree remaining and flew to India just four days after completing his end-of-year medical exams.

He is returning to India in the autumn to complete his medical elective at an eye hospital in the south of the country for six weeks, travelling straight there after competing for Great Britain at the World Championships in Saudi Arabia in September.

The time Chin spends in the gym training, he said, gives him the balance he needs working in the hospital.

"It completely recharges me and refuels me. I think I would really struggle to just do medicine and study medicine if I did not do weightlifting," Chin said.

"After I've had a hard day in the hospital, on the wards, I need to go to the gym it's almost a necessity to feel refreshed for the next year."

Before the Worlds, Chin is due to compete at the British Championships where he aiming to win a second title, having also won four consecutive English Championships in the past seven years.

Representing England at the Commonwealth Games in 2026 is the big goal for Chin, however there is doubt over the event after the Australian state of Victoria pulled out of hosting the Games.

Beyond a possible appearance in three years' time depending on the status of the Games, however, he is not putting any limits on how far he could continue.

"It's usually a set amount of years from when you start weightlifting that you hit your peak, and because I started later I'll probably maybe hit my peak in my early 30s, maybe even my late 30s, who knows," Chin added.

"I don't have that much mileage because I started quite late in the sport so I feel relatively healthy and fresh compared to other weightlifters I speak to. I feel like I could continue to keep going as long as my body will let me and I'll just keep taking each year as it comes and if I can keep pushing past 2026 I'll do that."