CSWLC Athlete Profile: Rhys Hall

Laura & Rhys at the Canterbury Academy Sports Awards

Our youth athlete & boys team Captain, Rhys, has recently received the Steve Green Scholarship award at the Canterbury Academy Sport Awards for his hard work and commitment!

He has been so dedicated to training and improving in the sport of weightlifting, he is also very supportive of his fellow lifting team mates.

This week in training he has also hit the British qualification total for the under 17s 55kg category, which means exciting prospects for the year ahead!

Rhy's first official British Weight Lifting Tier 3 competition will happen in March jsut after he turns 16.

We have asked Rhys a few questions about his weightlifting journey so far:

When did you start weightlifting and what are your current PBs?

I started weightlifting in April of 2019 and since then I have accumulated some great PB’s such as a 50kg snatch which is 2kg under my body weight as well as this I have achieved a 65kg clean and jerk just recently. At the moment I am in the under 55kg category of the under 17’s.

What do you love about weightlifting?

I love the sport of weightlifting because I enjoy the feeling of adrenaline going through my body when I attempt PBs as well as when I compete in front of quite a lot of people. As well as this I also love weightlifting because their is always a challenge. Whether that is a physical or mental challenge I always stride to take them on and get past them, this is so that I can improve every session that I train.

I enjoy turning up to each session because with the support of my family, friends and coaches I am able to push myself as much as I possibly can to reach my full potential.

What is your motivation for training?

Every day that I train I am motivated by everyone that is around me as well as the dream of possibly becoming part of the GB team or even an Olympian one day.

How did you get in to weightlifting at the start?

When I was in year 10 I always loved going to the gym but when the gym club at school stopped I wanted to carry on and so I joined weightlifting and after about a month I chose to stay with it because even though my body wasn’t used to the movements of weightlifting I loved the sport and wanted to stay with it.

What do you do outsdie of weightlifting?

Outside of school I am a police cadet as I love to help people out within the community. As well as this I also like to play video games in my spare time as it helps me to relieve stress the same way weightlifting does.