Bobbie Ross has been selected to represent Great Britain in the European Weightlifting Championships.

The 27-year-old from Wainscott got the international call-up after winning gold at the recent English Championships.

It’s been quite a journey for the former gymnast who tried weightlifting, liked it and is now a national champion.

“It’s a big deal and I’m excited,” said Ross, after excelling in a sport that she has only been doing for just over three years.

“I quit gymnastics because of injuries and had a break.

“I started doing CrossFit. In that we do weightlifting and I found that I was able to use some of what I learnt in gymnastics to weightlifting. I stuck with it and got better.” Ross started winning local competitions which led to her competing nationally.

In January she won a tense final to take gold in the English Championships, saving her best until last.

She lifted a personal best 101 kilo in the clean and jerk, having already completed 83k on the snatch. It was the last lift of the day and although success has come early for Ross, it hasn’t been easy.

She said: “The competition was quite close, three of us could have won it and it came down to the last lift.

“Because I had a sporting background in gymnastics, I managed to pick it up easier
but it has been hard work to get this far, a lot of training.

“Most of those in the GB squad have been doing it for 10 years or so so it does feel
strange.”

Ross quit her 9-5 corporate career for a job in sport and now works as a coach full-time which enables her to prepare properly for the challenges ahead.

She heads to Bucharest, Romania at the end of March for the European Championships.
The British is in July and the Worlds towards the end of the year.

“That’s the eventual aim, the World Championships,” she said. “But for now it’s going to be
an intense four or five weeks before the European Championships.”