Silver lining for Preston powerlifter Sarah Davies Smale at Commonwealth Games
England's Davies Smale thrilled to win silver at the Commonwealth Games behind all-time great Canada's Maude Charron.
Preston powerlifter Sarah Davies Smale was happy despite having to settle for a silver medal after a gutsy performance in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The 33-year-old took second place in the 63kg category behind Canada’s Maude Charron, while Femily Crystie-Notte of Nauru took bronze.
Davies Smale, who claimed gold at 71kg four years ago in Birmingham and silver at 69kg on the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2018, found herself in fourth place after the snatch.
She took it to the limit by lifting 95kg with her third and final attempt, with her favoured clean and jerk to come later in the afternoon.
Charron was well clear on the leaderboard at the half-way stage after setting a new Games record for the snatch with a lift of 102kg.
The Canadian ace then showed her immense power to lift 130kg in the clean and jerk to open up a big gap at the top.
Davies Smale, who had moved into second after clearing 122kg, opted to take on a huge 138kg on her final lift in a bid to overhaul Charron.
However, the attempt ended in failure as she was forced to settle for a fine silver.
Charron, who is now a three-time Commonwealth Games champion having won twice at 63kg and once at 64kg, finished with an impressive combined total of 232kg.
That was 15kg better than Davies Smale whose combined score amounted to 217kg – one kg better than Crystie-Notte.
Davies Smale, who hails from the village of Bilsborrow and attended Garstang high School, has now claimed seven major medals during her career.
Along with her Commonwealth Games haul, she can boast two European golds and one silver, as well as a World Championships silver.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Davies Smale said: "The snatch portion was on brand, I felt strong but just couldn't quite feel where the bar was today.
"I really enjoyed the crowd and that experience really shows because you can take it in and really enjoy it.
"I'm lucky to be in the position I am and have the support I have. The National Lottery stuff allows me to keep training, keep my coaches, nutritionists and the whole team so as long as we can keep doing it we'll see where we end up."
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On the winner, Canada's Maude Charron, the England athlete added: "I'm honoured to call her a friend. We've competed alongside each other since I was last here at the Glasgow games in 2014.
"She's one of the greatest of all time in female middleweight weightlifting and I'll take the silver, for sure."