ILKLEY Grammar School’s PE teacher Sarah Davies competed in the English Weightlifting Championships over half term and captured her first national title at the Castleford Phoenix Theatre.

The 22-year-old narrowly missed out on the crown in her previous two attempts at the championships but she is delighted to secure her gold medal.

Davies, who finished seventh at the 2014 Commonwealth in Glasgow, put her success down to a change in weight division. She said: “I have been very close to the title the last couple of times. I normally compete in the 63kg class and last year I lost out on the title by 1kg, so I decided to try the lighter category and so far it looks to be paying off.”

The championships are the first major weightlifting competition of the year. As well as winning her gold medal, Davies also won the title of best female weightlifter across the whole competition which now makes her number one in England.

“The European Championships are in April and I cannot wait to compete there after this win,” said Davies. “I know I am capable of a lot more and I will be training very hard heading into the Europeans whilst balancing my career. Rio next year is all that is in my sights now and I’m more determined than ever to get there and be competitive.”