Celebrating Weightlifting Wales Success

Weightlifting Wales congratulates all the athletes, as well as our Coaches (Gareth Evans and Simon Roach), and Team Manager (Christian Pszyk) who helped make these recent international events for us a success. Alongside key collaboration with British Weightlifting (BWL), 

With the 2025 IWF World Championships and recent 2025 Commonwealth Championships also acting as a Commonwealth Games qualifier, the performances in Førde and Ahmedabad have built a strong base for the road to the next Games and beyond.

Thank You to Our Partners

This success would not have been possible without the ongoing support of our partners, and funding bodies, comprising of National Lottery and the Welsh Government. Their commitment to Weightlifting Wales and our athletes to give them the opportunity to compete at the highest level, develop through the performance pathways, and proudly represent their nation is greatly appreciated by all. A huge thanks go to them.

2025 Para Powerlifting World Championships - Cairo, Egypt

In a landmark outing at the 2025 World Para Powerlifting Championships in Cairo, Evelyn Thomas delivered one of her most mature and composed performances on the international stage as she came away with two silver medals — cementing her status amongst rising stars in Welsh Para lifting. 

This year’s championships was the 11th edition of the competition, held in Egypt’s New Capital Sports Hall, which marked a historic first with the World Para Powerlifting event being hosted on African soil. The competition format included a “Rookie & Next Gen” events (9–10 October) followed by the Elite competition (11–18 October). Evelyn, selected by British Weight Lifting under the Home Nations pathway as part of the Welsh representation, entered the competition as part of the "Next Gen” ranks in the women's 67kg category.

Moving on to competition results, Evelyn successfully lifted 3 from 3 for the day as she benched: 69kg, 72kg, 75kg - giving a total of 216kg. This outstanding performance by Evelyn was good enough for a place on the podium at both the best lift (of 75kg), and as the total combined, which was to the the delight of herself and her coach Simon Roach.

Evelyn travelled to Cairo with strong aspirations, and her selection itself was a vote of confidence and a brilliant achievement as a reward for her rapid development in recent years. But to deliver a performance marked by consistency, technical composure, and competitive poise is something Evelyn should be very proud of.

Competing against the world’s best in Cairo gives Evelyn invaluable exposure to elite competition under high pressure as she build towards future international competitions. Evelyn’s progress is a beacon for younger para-athletes in Wales. Her pathway—from national to international levels—symbolises what is possible with commitment, support, and strategic coaching.

Celebrating Weightlifting Wales Success

Weightlifting Wales congratulates all the athletes, as well as our Coaches (Gareth Evans and Simon Roach), and Team Manager (Christian Pszyk) who helped make these recent international events for us a success. Alongside key collaboration with British Weightlifting (BWL), 

With the 2025 IWF World Championships and recent 2025 Commonwealth Championships also acting as a Commonwealth Games qualifier, the performances in Førde and Ahmedabad have built a strong base for the road to the next Games and beyond.

Thank You to Our Partners

This success would not have been possible without the ongoing support of our partners, and funding bodies, comprising of National Lottery and the Welsh Government. Their commitment to Weightlifting Wales and our athletes to give them the opportunity to compete at the highest level, develop through the performance pathways, and proudly represent their nation is greatly appreciated by all. A huge thanks go to them.

Weightlifting Wales has expressed strong support for the official release of the full individual sports competition schedule by the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games organising committee. The Games is set to be one of the most spectacular events of the decade.

The newly published schedule confirms that Para Powerlifting will open medal action on Friday 24 July, with two medal sessions (afternoon and evening) at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Armadillo. The Men's and Women's Lightweight sessions (Women Lightweight - ≤ 61 kg, Men's Lightweight - ≤ 72 kg), will be initially contested in the afternoon, whereby the very first medal of the whole Games will be handed out in this session, marking the first time a Para sport has opened the medal tally at a Commonwealth Games.

Regular Weightlifting competition is slated to run from Sunday 26 July to Thursday 30 July, with three sessions per day ranging from early morning to late evening.

Venue information of the SEC Armadillo for the Para Powerlifting and Weightlifting of next year's games can be found on the Glasgow 2026 website here:

SEC Armadillo

With general ticket sales for the Games opening at the end of this month on 30th October, knowing the schedule now means fans of our great sport can secure seats for each session of the Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting action, where they can get a chance to witness the best Commonwealth athletes take to the platform.