Jessica Gordon-Brown lands weightlifting silver after ‘stumbling’ upon sport

Jessica Gordon-Brown reflected fondly on the “happy accident” that led to her pursuing weightlifting after claiming Commonwealth Games silver in the women’s 59kg final.

A once budding judoka as well as a national acrobatic gymnastics champion at one point, Gordon-Brown happened upon what would prove to be her true calling in her final year at Brighton University.

“I’m so glad that finally after doing three different sports I found the one for me,” said the 26-year-old from Harefield.

“I think I’m built for it and I glad I stumbled into it. A happy accident.”

Gordon-Brown lifted 86kg in the snatch and then 111kg in the clean and jerk for a combined 197kg, enough for second place which she celebrated with a backflip at Birmingham’s NEC Arena.

Nigeria’s Rafiatu Folashade Lawal set a new Games record with 206kg to capture the gold medal, while Canada’s Tali Darsigny took bronze after lifting just one kilogram less than an ecstatic Gordon-Brown.

“It wasn’t a perfect backflip, but it just shows how much I had to put into that last clean and jerk,” said Gordon-Brown after becoming England’s second weightlifting medallist of the Games, with Fraer Morrow collecting bronze in the women’s 55kg category on Saturday.

“I didn’t really know how to celebrate, it just happened. That was sheer euphoria. I haven’t quite accepted what’s just happened yet.

“It’s something I’ve been dreaming about for a very long time, something I never would have thought I’d hear and it’s really nice to see the hard work finally pay off.”

Earlier on Sunday, Jaswant Shergill, born and raised in Birmingham, finished just outside the medal positions in fourth in the men’s 67kg final.