A TAMESIDE-TRAINED powerlifter hopes to shoulder the weight of a bid for Olympic and Commonwealth Games glory.
And if Charlotte Metcalfe does get the call, do not bet against her going all the way after overcoming a bleed to the brain to earn a medal.
The athlete learned all she knows at Ashton-under-Lyne’s Olympic Gym but in September, things took a turn for the worst when a barbell falling on to her left severe damage.
Just one month later, though, she had a silver medal around her neck after lifting a personal best at the Global Powerlifting Community’s world championships in Slovakia.
Now she is waiting to hear if she will be accepted on to the programmes that could see her selected for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
All the while the 20-year-old is still suffering the effects of the brain injury she sustained.
“I thought it was a concussion at the time,” Charlotte said about when a barbell fell on her. “I later found out it was a sub arachnoid brain haemorrhage.
“I was in the gym and with a barbell accidents can happen but I’d not noticed and went home.
“The day after, my friend noticed something about the pupils of my eyes, so I went to hospital for about 14 hours. I had an MRI on October 7, and I flew to Slovakia on October 10.
“It wasn’t completely gone. When I was flying, I was in agony because of a pressure feeling in my head.
“I’ve not had any surgery or anything. I just had paracetamol, that was it! I was in bed for two weeks after it, though.
“And it still affects me now. I have a tremor in my hand and sometimes it will fail. My memory and speech aren’t what they used to be either, but I’ve found ways around it.
“I’m very thankful I have muscle, more than the average person. If I hadn’t it would be a lot different, I assume.”
Law student Charlotte has already showed she can perform despite her brain injury by landing her medal at the GPC championships in Slovakia.
And she told The Correspondent she may not exactly have followed best protocol to earn it.
She added: “I did deadlift only as I was coming back from the injures. Leading up to it, I was a bit apprehensive about getting a personal best.
“For my first, I thought I’d do 70kg as I’d not lifted in a while, then thought throw on a bit more weight but 90kg felt good, so I did 97kg.
“It wasn’t a great tactic, but I just thought, ‘You might as well go for it,’ and I finished on 112kg as my personal best was 110kg.
“I got a personal best with a brain bleed!”
Now she has proved she has the will – and the strength – the Olympics and Commonwealth Games are on Charlotte’s radar.
All the Manchester-based lifter needs is the call to say she can go for both.
She continued: “I’m hoping to get on to the programmes for para powerlifting at the Commonwealth Games and I’m also hoping to get into Olympic weightlifting.
“After the injuries, my main focus was on powerlifting. Then my plan was to transition to weightlifting.
“But after hearing para powerlifting will be at the Commonwealth Games, I’m really interested in doing that.
“I’m hoping to finish with that, doing both at the Commonwealths, then move to Olympic weightlifting. I’d really love to do them both.
“I hope I get on. To do weightlifting, you have to qualify for certain events and hit certain numbers. It’s possible, though. It’s definitely out there.
“There’s nothing to say I can’t.”