Welcome to this edition of Top-Up Tuesday.
This week I am sharing news from two recent international championships, important information for British Championship competitors, and an update on the 2027 WADA Prohibited List.
International Championships SUccess
Western European CHampionships
Classic Head coach report
Team GBR recently sent out a team of 6 men and 6 women to the 17th and final Western European championships in Hamm, Luxembourg. Historically the Western European championships have been a great opportunity for some of our best developing lifters to demonstrate their abilities, whilst gaining valuable experience on the international stage to further their development. This year was no different, with both the men’s and the women’s team winning Gold Overall respectively for the second successive year.
The team awards this year were ranked based on the top 4 GL’s of each team, so a special mention to the lifters who contributed to these scores:
Mens Team – 423.00 GL
Cejai Lindsay- 106.9624 (2nd Overall)
Luke Paranal- 106.7382 (3rd Overall)
Chinedum Okolo-104.7939
Jay Batten- 104.5147
Womens Team- 409.99 GL
Tara Pigott- 103.35
Suzanne Daniel- 102.96
Dominique Cox-101.87
Molly Clark-101.81
Full Results as below:
52kg
Cherry Yeung-Murray – 390kg (2nd)
Molly Clark – 401kg (1st+ WEC Squat+ Total Record)
63kg
Suzanne Daniels- 467.5kg (3rd)
Tara Pigott- 470kg (2nd)
69kg
Dominique Cox- 488kg (2nd + WEC Deadlift Record)
Hannah Clayton- 452.5kg
83kg
Luke Paranal- 770kg (1st)
Chinedum Okolo- 752.5kg (3rd)
93kg
Jay Batten- 795kg (2nd)
Demi Fatona- 765kg
105kg
Cejai Lindsay- 865kg (1st)
Sam Cook- 812.5kg
A huge thank you to the coaching staff; Jacob Wymer, Ivan De La Cruz, Sian Arterton & Genevieve Collins for helping make this weekend as successful and enjoyable as it was for all involved. As always a thank you goes to the referees and volunteers without which these competitions cannot happen.
A huge thank you to A7 UK for supporting the team with their kit this year and to The Barbell Division Southampton for generously hosting our team’s squad session. It may have been the final Western European Championships, but competitions like these are essential in our continued development of tomorrow’s talent, so I look forward to seeing how the European Cup takes shape in 2028 and what opportunities arise for our lifters in the meantime.
Owen Kirk
2026 Western European Head Coach
Equipped Head coach report
This year’s equipped team was a mix of returning talent and relative newcomers to the open team, so it gave us a fantastic mix of experiences across the team.
Our team of five women won Gold Overall, with Leanne Richards placing 2nd Overall as well. While our Men’s team only had two lifters so couldn’t compete for the team awards, it didn’t stop Ray Bowring from securing 2nd Overall on a relatively conservative performance.
A huge well done to all those that competed, and full results below:
57kg
Helen Hughes – 425kg (2nd Place)
69kg
Angharad Fraser-Williams – 475kg (2nd Place)
84kg
Leanne Richards – 572.5kg (2nd Place & 2nd Overall)
Christie Civetta – DSQ
84kg+
Stephanie Roderick – 540kg (1st Place)
105kg
Matt Watson – 720kg (5th Place)
120kg+
Ray Bowring – 1146.5kg (1st Place, Second Overall & WEC Squat, Bench & Total Record)
Thank you to the coaching team; Dean Bowring & Kim Cowell, as well as the Classic coaches; Gen Collins, Sian Arterton and Owen Kirk, that stepped up to assist during the Equipped sessions.
If you’re interested in getting involved in Equipped lifting, please don’t hesitate to reach out and come along to one of our future taster sessions.
Jacob Wymer
Western Euros 2026 Head Coach
Commonwealth Championships
The 2026 Commonwealth Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships have also concluded in Winnipeg, Canada. The event brought together 778 lifters across classic and equipped powerlifting and bench press competitions.
British Powerlifting members representing England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man returned with an impressive collection of individual titles, medals and team successes. Congratulations to every athlete who competed, and thank you to the coaches, referees and support teams who helped make these performances possible. View the full Commonwealth Championships results. Jo Whitely’s report below:
The 2026 Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships took place recently in Winnipeg, Canada. Although British Powerlifting does not send a team directly, each of our Home Nations participated and they had some great results.
With well over 400 participants from the five Home Nations, there are too many to name individually here, but you can be sure that we are proud of every single one.
This huge competition spanned nearly two weeks and covered four distinct areas, classic and equipped powerlifting and classic and equipped bench only. All the age classes were included too, making this a colossal event.
Congrats to Team England who were second only to the host nation, Canada. In all, we brought home 94 new Commonwealth Champions across the five Home Nations and had an incredible 247 podium finishes:
2nd – England – 61 champions
3rd – Scotland – 12 champions
6th – Wales – 8 champions
8th – Isle of Man – 7 champions
9th – Northern Ireland – 6 champions
Countless national records fell and there were more Commonwealth records broken than we can reliably recount, but we had some world record breakers too:
Equipped M3 – Maureen Gordon SCO – 76kg Bench WR – 130.5kg
Equipped M3 – Maureen Gordon SCO – 76kg Bench only WR – 133.5kg
Classic M2 – Janet Pam IOM – 84kg Squat WR – 180kg
Full results can be found on the Commonwealth Powerlifting website and the next event will be in 2028, possibly a little closer to home!
– Jo Whitely
British CHampionship applications and qualifying totals
Applications are now open for the SBD British Open Classic Championships, taking place at the NEC Birmingham from 4 to 6 December 2026. Applications close on 1 November.
Lifters who have achieved the published qualifying total at an IPF-sanctioned competition can register their interest through the new championship entry portal. Achieving the qualifying total allows a lifter to apply but does not automatically guarantee a place. Places will be offered in order of verified qualifying total within each weight class. The £120 entry fee is only payable after a place has been offered. View the application information and submit your total.
2027 & 2028 quALIFYING TOTALS
Qualifying totals for all British Championships will remain unchanged for 2027. All qualifying totals will be reviewed and updated for 2028, with further information to follow.
2027 wADA PROHIBITED LIST
WADA has published the 2027 Prohibited List, which will come into force on 1 January 2027. The changes include further clarification and examples relating to unapproved peptides, hormone and metabolic modulators, diuretics and masking agents, cannabinoids and glucocorticoids. Cannabidiol remains permitted, although cannabis-derived CBD products may contain prohibited THC. GLP-1 medicines, including semaglutide and tirzepatide, remain outside the Prohibited List for 2027 while WADA continues its research. Read WADA’s summary of the 2027 changes.
Athletes remain responsible for everything found in their system. Please check every prescribed and over-the-counter medication through Global DRO before using it, and recheck any regular medication when the new List comes into force on 1 January. Global DRO provides a reference number for each search, which athletes should retain with their records. Check medication through Global DRO.
NEW vOLUNTEERING oPPURTUNITIES
See the following following opportunities made available to apply for:
– Administrator/Secretary
– Records Keeper
– Membership Registrar
– High Performance Lead
Please get in touch if you are interested.
Charlie Marillier
CEO, British Powerlifting
