Take A Load On

Rebecca Copeland WEDS26APR23

hen eagle-eyed GG reader Hilary Blythman sent us a link to the EWF European Senior Championships 2023, we were more than a little surprised to see a Greystones girl as one of the weightlifting competitors.

How come we’d never heard of Rebecca Copeland before…?

And how the heck did this mighty muscle magnet get all the way from here to the European championships in Armenia – where Rebecca qualified for the World Championships…?

“I’m not entirely sure either how this all happened,” the lady herself reveals on this fine Greystones afternoon outside Café Grey. “It started out as a new kick, after years of gymnastics, and it quickly just grew, and grew…”

And how. Attending her first professional competition in March 2017, Rebecca quickly went on to win four consecutive national titles in the -49kg category – titles that Copeland has bounced back and forth with her teammate, Tham Nguyen.

Winning the title of Best Female Lifter in Malta at her first international competition back in 2019 proved a springboard for the European championships and the upcoming shot on a World stage. Few in the industry doubt that this sunny Greystones girl – forever smiling, despite having the world of weights on her shoulders – could do for weightlifting in this country what Katie Taylor has done for boxing.

And to think it all grew out of some CrossFit classes, taking a sidestep into weightlifting sessions with coach Stewart Gilbert turning Copeland’s life around in more ways than one.

Having made the move last August to Capital Strength – a gym exclusively for weightlifting – Rebecca (who works as a staff nurse at the LauraLynn Children’s hospice) clearly has her eyes on the gold prize. And Weightlifting Ireland – which boasts “just 500 or so members” – will no doubt be hoping these new competitors will inspire a whole new generation.

Joining Rebecca and Tham in Armenia earlier this month were Gillian Barry, Hannah Crymble and Sean Brown, Team Ireland making a little history when Nguyen – who returned to weightlifting after seven years away to raise a family – became the first-ever Irish competitor to medal at the European Senior Weightlifting Championships.

“We had an incredible time in Armenia,” finishes Copeland, “and it showed us all that we can definitely compete on a world stage.

“So we’re all just feeling, hey, bring it on…”

You can follow Rebecca Copeland on Instagram here, and find out more about Weightlifting Ireland over here.