Young Sunderland weightlifters carry home seven medals at inter-club event

A Sunderland weightlifting club is celebrating after major successes at national tournaments.
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Weights & Cakes in Nile Street, Sunderland, was only founded in April 2021 by Zoe Chandler alongside the Community Interest Company (CIC), to run classes encouraging those who might not otherwise become involved in sport.

The club boosts the confidence of those least likely to head to the gym – with the promise of a sweet treat as an end of session reward.

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Seven of the club’s young lifter competed at an inter-club competition in Mansfield for novices and kids. All seven children made the podium taking four golds, two silvers and a bronze.

The successful young weightlifters from Weights & Cakes with coach Zoe Chandler.The successful young weightlifters from Weights & Cakes with coach Zoe Chandler.
The successful young weightlifters from Weights & Cakes with coach Zoe Chandler.

The successful lifters in various categories were Sydney Loxley, eight, who took bronze, Libby Warwick-Snow 10, took gold, Robert Cuddy, 10, won gold, Blake Fobister, 10, took silver, Zach Taylor, 12, also silver, Layton Lamont, 12, took gold medal, as did Jack Allen, 16.

For Sydney, Robert, Blake and Jack it was their first competition. Sydney only joined in November.

Meanwhile, head coach Zoe 49, competed herself at the Northern Masters championships in Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire and won a gold medal.

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This means she has now qualified for British Masters Championships in Derby, Europeans Masters in Poland and World Masters championships in Florida all in 2022.

Zoe said: “We been going for less than a year and most of them had never been in a competition before.

“It was a great experience for them and they were really, really nervous. But they smashed it and really supported each other. We were absolutely over the moon and the kids were thrilled.”

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