Inverness weightlifter takes top spot at Scottish Universities Weightlifting Championships in Edinburgh
AVA Walsh is raising her weightlifting career to new heights after being crowned a national champion for the first time.
The 19-year-old from Inverness claimed gold in the under-64kg category at the Scottish Universities Championship in Edinburgh.
The third year student, who is studying sport and fitness at UHI Inverness, picked up the biggest win of her weightlifting career last weekend.
It is an incredible achievement for the former Millburn Academy pupil, who only took up the sport two years ago.
In the competition, Walsh lifted 60kg in the snatch and 71kg in the clean and jerk for a combined total score of 131kg which gave her the national title.
Walsh said the support she has received in training to land the national title was testament to the effort and dedication she has put into the sport in the last two years.
She said: “This is definitely the biggest thing that I have achieved in weightlifting as I have not medalled in any competition before.
“I have been in the sport nearly two years and in the past few months I worked individually with my coach and seen a lot improvement since then and I am continuing to achieve more.
“I have been working hard on my technique and stuck to my club’s programme and with their encouragement I have seen a lot of improvements.”
Taking part in other sports as a teenager, Walsh only started weightlifting when she was 17.
She became a member of Highland Weightlifting Club and was also inspired to take up the sport through her father Steve who is an experienced weightlifter.
Working alongside her coach Nicky Grant at Highland Weightlifting Club, she has enjoyed considerable progress in the sport and is looking to achieve even more.
She said: “My dad has been involved in powerlifting and weightlifting for most of his life. For over 10 years he has been chairman of Highland Weightlifting Club. Before 2019, I was involved in other sports such as netball and running. I was in the Highland District Netball team, but once you turn 17 there is no senior team for the Highland District.
“It left me stuck not knowing what to do. So, I went to one of Nicky’s classes at High Life and became hooked on the sport since.
“Weightlifting is something you don’t master quickly, there is a lot of technical work before you can build on lifting weights. I was lucky there was a good community with Highland Weightlifting Club. At the beginning I was lifting 25kg in snatch and 40kg in clean and jerk. But with the help of Nicky, I have increased how much I can lift.”
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Walsh’s progression in the sport also led to her starting up the Inverness UHI Weightlifting Club where she is president and head coach.
She says despite the sport being male dominated in the past, more women are getting involved in weightlifting than ever before.
She said: “I formed the club at UHI Inverness in October and currently there are three men and six women attending.
“We also have youth sessions for Highland Weightlifting Club on Thursday at Inverness Leisure. We have had so many youngsters joining.
“It has become a bigger thing across Scotland with women in recent years.
“Before it was very male dominated sport because of heavy lifting, but over the past few years it has become more female dominated and it is good to see that happening in the Highlands too.
“It is good to see female coaches in Highland Weightlifting Club as it makes females more comfortable,”
Walsh is now preparing for the British Universities Championship in London in April and has also qualified for the Scottish Senior Championship later this year.
She is looking to follow on her success from winning her Scottish Universities title as she looks to continue progressing in the sport.
She said: “I competed at the British Universities Championship last year and will be competing again in April at Brunel University in London. It is definitely a much larger playing field and there is a lot really good lifters from England and Wales. But I am keen to see where I am in the rankings.
“I would like to go as far as I can. I am enjoying taking it seriously and learning about recovery and nutrition because it is a weight category sport and knowing how to stay in the category by fuelling yourself properly.
“Over the past year, I have stayed in the under-64kg category and have learned a lot about eating the right protein and carbohydrates, fuelling myself enough to train but also stay in that weight category.”
Walsh has also been selected for the Weightlifting Scotland Regional Development Squad and attends regular training sessions.
She also runs UHI Inverness Weightlifting Club sessions at the UHI fitness suite on Tuesdays 4pm and 5pm and female sessions between 5pm and 6pm.
For more information about the club, visit their Facebook and Instagram pages.
