Veteran Preston weightlifter Sarah Davies is eyeing double gold glory in 2026
Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Sarah Davies remains open minded as to whether 2026 will be the year that she finally puts the barbell down for good.
After more than a decade as one of the world’s eminent female weightlifters, the 33-year-old Preston powerhouse knows she is entering the twilight of her career.
An Olympian – who competed at the Covid-affected Tokyo Games in 2021 where she finished just outside the medals in fifth in the 64kg category – Davies has accomplished many great things throughout her years competing on the biggest stages.
A former world silver medal winner, Davies arguably enjoyed her finest hour last year when she was crowned European champion for the very first time – winning 64kg gold in Chisnau, Moldova.
It begs the question: Why contemplate retirement after just achieving the biggest result of her long career?
Davies mused that continuing for another two years-plus and earning a second shot at Olympic glory at Los Angeles 2028 could be an opportunity too difficult to turn down.
But equally the former Garstang High School pupil – who grew up in the village of Bilsborrow – may decide that a successful defence of her Commonwealth Games crown in Glasgow later in the summer may provide the perfect swansong to her glittering career.
A gymnastics prodigy who switched to weightlifting around 16 years ago, Davies – who will defend her Euro crown in Batumi, Georgia, in April – admits retirement is a word which gets mentioned a lot to an athlete once they have gone beyond the age of 30.
Recently married, Davies insists she has an open mind regarding the future but will continue to weightlift for as long as she continues to enjoy the heat of the battle.
“It’s been a wild experience to be honest,” said Davies when reflecting on her sporting career.
“Sixteen years ago, I didn’t know what weightlifting was, so to be where I am now, having achieved what I have, is something quite special.
“Sixteen years is a very long time to be doing high-level sport and to be competing at the level that I am.
“I am very grateful for that; people say, ‘Oh, are you thinking about retirement?
“But I just say I am still enjoying it, I am still healthy – I am just sort of seeing where the journey takes me to be honest.
“People do talk about it but I just think I am not ready for it yet and until our priorities shift, I will carry on.
“Winning the Euros last year is definitely up there as my biggest achievement along with the Commonwealth Games gold.
“Being so close to winning the Euros many times in the past; I’ve got a collection of bronze and silvers; so it was nice to get a gold one too. It’s probably tougher to win a Euros than a Commonwealths, especially in those middleweight categories.
“You’ve got a lot of the big weightlifting nations competing in the Euros – like Russia and Romania – all those eastern European countries who are traditionally so strong at weightlifting. So that’s the focus this year – the Euros and the Commonwealths.
“In terms of the LA Olympics, I am not getting any younger so whether I go to them is still to be determined.
“Olympic qualification will start at the end of this year at the World Championships in October.
“I will probably make a decision from how the results and rankings look like after that competition as to whether I want to commit to another Olympic cycle.”
It was in 2014 when Davies – who was once crowned Miss Leeds at a beauty pageant while she was at university – experienced her first major multi-sports environment when she competed at the Commonwealth Games as a relative rookie lifter when it was held in Glasgow.
Four years later she was on the podium, claiming a silver in the 69kg category on the Gold Coast in Australia.
In 2022, she went one better, delighting the home crowd in Birmingham by winning her first major gold medal in the 71kg category.
With this year’s Games back on home soil in Glasgow following Australian state Victoria’s withdrawal as hosts, Davies is banking on home support to roar her to glory once again.
“It will be nice to be back in Glasgow – it was where my first Commonwealth Games was so I have got good memories
“That particular performance back then did not go as well as I hoped it would, but I was very inexperienced back then. I hadn’t been lifting that long. So to go back there for what will probably be my last ever Commonwealth Games will be a cool experience.”