The Palace of Art Weightlifting Club had another successful outing at the weekend, picking up several medals and records in the Scottish Western District Championships at Kilwinning weightlifting club in Ayrshire. 

Both girls and boys starred for the club.  In the 48kg class, Stephanie McDiarmid set a new Scottish under-17 record of 32kg in the snatch and then went on to clean and jerk 40kg to win her section.

13-year-old Hayley Hamilton lifted 32kg in the snatch and 42kg in the clean and jerk to gain third place in the 53kg weight-class.

Karen Idun, a newcomer to weightlifting competed in the 75+kg class recording a 32kg snatch and a new best of 44kg in the clean and jerk to win what was only her second competition.

Last out for the Palace of Art females was Amy Hamilton, who with one eye on competing for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi next year, broke her own Scottish Junior and Senior records. 

Amy lifted 65kg in the snatch and 77kg in the clean and jerk to finish on a 142kg total and a first-place finish.

In the men’s events, the club’s 69kg-class lifters Haris Ansari and Douglas Crawford lifted 76kg and 67kg respectively in the snatch. 

In the clean and jerk Douglas managed 85kg but missed on his final effort of 87kg and finished in second place.  Haris started at his heaviest ever start weight of 100kg which he missed on his first attempt but succeeded on his second. 

Damien Wright, 17, and Danny Craig, 18, both lifted well in the 77kg class and both recorded new bests, Damien snatching 51kg and Daniel with 70kg.  Damien clean and jerked 55kg, Daniel managing a massive 100kg lift, totalling 170kg in his first competition in five years, taking second place behind Kilmarnock’s Graeme Kane.

In the 85kg class Rod McAuley snatched 60kg and Mark Fitzpatrick, 17, managed 85kg.  In the clean and jerk Rod lifted 90kg and Mark hoisted up an immense 110kg and fourth place in the hotly contested class.

Senior Tommy Toal was last out for the Palace in the 105+kg class snatching 120kg and a huge 150kg in the clean and jerk for second place. 

All in all a very good day for POA, with new bests and some new Scottish records for the growing club.