Evie-Ray wows with first title following stunning lift

When the 23-year-old travelled to Yorkshire for the British Weightlifting Championships her primary aim was to avoid embarrassment.

She achieved that and much more, stunning the competition to claim gold in the under-23s 71kgs category.

“It was a huge surprise,” admits Turner. “I’ve had a lot of other things going on this year, from starting work to graduating from university. The championships really weren’t my top priority.

"My first weightlifting competition was in February 2020 and then after that, for obvious reasons, in-person competitions were a bit of a no-go.

“I just entered the championships to have a bit of fun and my goal was to not bomb out. I went there with the view that whatever happened, happened.”

Turner, from Bridgnorth, has been weightlifting since she began studying for a degree in nutrition and health at Coventry University in 2018 and now works as a coach at the city’s Wildcard Gym.

But the championships was only the second in-person competition she had ever entered. Disruption caused by the pandemic further added to a sense of stepping into the unknown.

“You don’t know what anyone else is lifting until you arrive at the venue and the board goes up,” she explains. “Until that happened I didn’t realise how heavy the weight I was going to be opening with was compared to everyone else.

“It was at that point I thought: ‘Maybe I can do this if I hold it together?’ I just focused on nailing my lifts.”

Turner lifted 68kgs in the snatch, roughly her bodyweight and a personal best, before then making a successful attempt at 84kgs in the clean and jerk. Then came a waiting game.

“After I made my last lift there were still a couple of girls still to go. Both were making heavier lifts in the clean and jerk,” she explains.

“I was quite cool at that point. I knew there was nothing more I could have done and I was pretty chuffed with what I’d already achieved.

“But they missed their lifts, meaning their total was lower than mine. I couldn’t really believe it.”

Sport has always been a key part of the former Oldbury Wells student's life. A keen footballer with Spartans FC for many years, Turner was also part of Idsall Gymnastics Club for more than a decade.

Despite admitting to having been a rather modest gymnast, she believes the strength and conditioning helped prepare her for weightlifting.

“It gives you a real sense of body awareness, which is what you need,” she says.

“It was at university I first got into it. I found the weightlifting club on Instagram and when I first gave it a go someone said: ‘You could be quite good at that’.

“For the first year I did it in the background alongside other training. Then I decided to commit to it and see what happened.

“It ends up being addictive. There are such technical movements and so much that goes into it.

“When you get it right there is a massive sense of achievement. Some people think it is boring because you are doing the same movements, four or five times a week.

“But it is those one per cent differences, every day. You go into each session with an aim and when you achieve it – there is a mental thing as well, being able to stick at something for that long. It trains you to not get frustrated.

"I've played team sports including football and netball. Individual sport I find a bit easier to control. There is a lot less responsibility and if you can shoulder it yourself, it is an easier pill to swallow. There is nothing to hide behind."

A maiden title in the bag and with her medal hanging proudly on the wall of the Wildcard gym, where she is also employed as a nutritionist, Turner admits her next steps in the sport will not be easy.

Most weightlifters do not hit their peak until their 30s, with those competing in the recent world championships lifting more than 50kgs more than those at the under-23 level.

“The standard is very different,” she says. “You can’t rush building muscle and that is the main thing. Maybe competing one day at national level? That would be good. I'm a weightlifting coach and I am never going to stop doing it. But for now I just want to enjoy it.”

In addition to building her career as a coach, Turner hopes her story will inspire other women to have a go at a sport largely dominated by men.

She said: “I don’t think as a weightlifting coach you need to have a title but having credentials definitely helps.

“Being a young woman – strength sports is a man’s world - when I first started I am not sure many people really listened to me.

“Now a couple of years later I can turn round and say: ‘This is what I know’. It has been an interesting dynamic to navigate around but it has all paid off.

“That is enough for me, being able to teach people and show what a positive impact it can have on your life.

“Getting young girls to do it is a massive thing. Women can be quite intimidated to train with weights – to strength train - and it doesn’t need to be like that.”