Gareth Irfon Evans (born 18 April 1986) is a Welsh weightlifter.Gareth Evans . Britishweightlifting.org. Retrieved 12 February 2013. He has competed in the 62 kg and 69 kg weight categories, and was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics.Weightlifting: Gareth Evans realises his Olympic dream. walesonline.co.uk, 11 June 2012
Early and personal life Evans was born to North Wales parents then resident in Dundee, Scotland, but the family moved back to their home in Holyhead, Anglesey before Evans started his schooling.
Evans started weightlifting aged 12, when he joined the local Holyhead Weightlifting Club. A trained painter and decorator, he gave up his job in preparation for the London 2012 Olympic Games, and moved for the preceding year to Headingley, Leeds, to train full-time at the British Weight Lifting High Performance Centre.
Evans has a daughter.
Career At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Francois Etoundi a Cameroon-born weightlifter competing for Australia, competed in the men's 77 kg event where he won a bronze medal. The following day, he was arrested for breaking the nose of Evans, and ordered to pay £400 after appearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court. Etoundi was later stripped of his Commonwealth Games accreditation and sent home in disgrace.
London 2012 Olympics At the 2012 Olympics, in the snatch he lifted 130 kg, but failed his final attempt at 133 kg. In the clean and jerk, he lifted 158 kg but failed at 160 kg. With a personal best total of 288 kg, as well as personal bests in both the snatch and the clean and jerk, he finished eighth in group B and 17th overall in the 69 kg weight category.Gareth Evans. Team GB. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Gareth Evans clinched his first Commonwealth Games medal during the 2018 Commonwealth Games on 6 April 2018 after winning a gold medal in the men's 69kg weightlifting event. This was also the first gold medal won by Wales at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Major results YearVenueWeight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank123Rank123RankRepresenting Olympic Games2012 London, Great Britain 69 kg 125130133181531581601728817World Championships2014 Almaty, Kazakhstan 62 kg 118118118—14615115117——2011 Paris, France 69 kg 115120125401451451454226541European Championships2016 Førde, Norway 62 kg 1151191221014214214612261112012 Antalya, Turkey 69 kg 1211211261515015015514271142010 Minsk, Belarus 62 kg 105108111131301351371324613Representing Commonwealth Games2018 Gold Coast, Australia 69 kg 1301331361601631652992014 Glasgow, Scotland 62 kg 1181201206147147150526852010 Delhi, India 62 kg 105110111131351401401224612
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