The Hautlieu student – crowned English and British champion earlier this year with a national U15 record – continued her exponential rise in the world of Olympic weightlifting with her first international appearance for Great Britain last week, having only taken up the sport in 2018 through Jersey Sport Foundation’s Power2Podium talent-spotting programme.
Neale equalled her own British record at the European Youth Weightlifting Championships in Israel, claiming 14th overall with a combined snatch/clean and jerk total of 133kg. She topped Group B in the snatch with a lift of 60kg and ended with a best of 73kg in the clean and jerk.
JSF coach John Scriven, who accompanied Neale and the eight-strong British team to the Middle East said: ‘For Charlotte to equal her personal best on her first international appearance … that’s huge.
‘She held it together and acted professionally – it didn’t seem like a major competition to her.
‘I think the future’s bright for her … it’s really exciting.’
Neale is believed to be the first Channel Islander ever to be selected for Great Britain in Olympic weightlifting.
