Road to Paris 2024: Campbell and Whyte back on top whilst Olympic hopefuls make their mark

Weightlifting 26 Feb 24

Emily Campbell and Kye Whyte are officially back on top of the podium after a rocky road to Paris 2024, with a number of Olympic bolters also making their mark.

A fourth European title for Emily Campbell

In her first competition since April 2023, Emily Campbell soared to a historic fourth European title.

Campbell has been plagued by injuries over the past 10 months but came into Sofia will dreams of retaining her continental crown after clinching the three-peat last year.

And even a last minute injury in the training hall couldn't stop the 29-year-old from grabbing her fourth.

Campbell declined her final attempt in making 112-151-263 and finished 6kg clear of Anastasiia Hotfrid from Georgia who grabbed silver.

Far from her personal best in the snatch, a strong performance in the clean and jerk pushed Campbell into the gold medal position overall and, with a bit of R and R, has set her up to shine once more at the Olympic Games this summer.

What they said

“On Friday in the training hall my adductor went, ‘No you’re not.’ It could have kept me out of the competition but [head coach Stu Martin] has worked really hard to get me here over the past three days.

“Obviously I’m more than happy with the result after that scare. Now I can go home for rehab and prepare for Paris."

What's next

Campbell currently sits fourth in the Olympic qualification ranking long list and has revealed that she will no compete at the upcoming IWF World Cup event in Thailand in order to rest up and recover ahead of the Paris 2024 Games.

Kye Whyte returns to the podium

It's been a rollercoaster few years of Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Kye Whyte but he's finally back on top.

The 24-year-old beat Switzerland's Cedric Butti by less than two hundredths of a second to win his first gold medal since 2019 at the BMX Racing World Cup in Brisbane.

Butti and Whyte were head to head for the majority of the final in Australia, with the Team GB athlete sat on the tail on the Swiss rider before sneaking ahead on the home straight.

A difficult 2023 saw Whyte fight a difficult battle with asthma alongside several other injuries which muted his progress on the journey to Paris 2024, forced to take a step back from competition over winter.

But a celebrated return to the podium ended his five-year wait for a World Cup gold.

What they said

"I haven't won in ages. It feels brilliant.

"I think the last time I won was in 2019 in front of my home crowd.

"2022 was a great year. Last year, I don't know how many injuries I had. Even at Christmas I had an asthma attack. I've only been riding for six weeks properly.

"Today I made the final and I won."

What's next

The next stop on the BMX Racing World Cup takes riders to Tulsa, Oklahoma on 27 April where Whyte will be looking to replicate his Australian success.

Harry Hepworth upsets the Olympic champion

Harry Hepworth was the shining star at the Cottbus World Cup.

The 20-year-old edged past reigning Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat to take the men's floor title in Germany.

Having snuck into the final in eighth place, Hepworth produced a monster routine to take the golden crown in a surprising twist of results.

The Leeds-based gymnast scored a total of 14.900, complete with a double-double to open and closing with a triple full, to squeeze past Dolgopyat's 14.866.

At the 2023 World Championships, Hepworth soared into three individual finals and a fourth place finish in the team event.

Add that to team bronze from the 2023 European Championships and Hepworth is undoubtedly making a name for himself on the world stage.

What's next

The FIG Apparatus World Cup continues from 7-10 March in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Molly Caudery extends her world lead

It's evident that Molly Caudery is reaching new heights this Olympic year.

It was just two weeks ago that the 23-year-old added 2cm to her personal best in the pole vault to clinch the world lead.

But the pole vaulter went one better at the Perche Elite Tour pole vault meet, grabbing a new personal best of 4.86m and extending her world lead by another centimetre.

Caudery took the meeting record in a strong field which included European champion Wilma Murto of Finland, who jumped 4.80m.

Her standings now place Caudery as the sixth best European women's pole vaulter of all time, and she now moves up to 10th place on the world indoor list.

What they said

"Having the world lead going into a World Indoors is a little bit of a pressure place to be honest, but it's really exciting.

"People keep asking me about the Olympics later this year and I'm just taking it day by day right now.

"I know I'm in good shape and I feel good. At the end of the day I'm only competing against myself and if I jump as high as I can that could potentially get me a medal."

What's next

The Worlds Caudery mentions are the upcoming World Athletics Indoor Championships, hosted at the Commonwealth Arena, Glasgow from 1-3 March.

Caudery will be just one of several Paris 2024 hopefuls looking to set a standard ahead of this summer.

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