Gareth Irfon Evans (born 18 April 1986) is a Welsh weightlifter. He has competed in the 62 kg and 69 kg weight categories, and was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics.

Early and personal life

Evans was born to

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

parents then resident in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, but the family moved back to their home in

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

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 The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

in Glasgow, Francois Etoundi a

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

-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 Glasgow Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in the Gorbals ( Laurieston) area of Glasgow, within the sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin. It is reputedly the busiest court in Europe. History The new court was commissioned to replace the Old Sh ...

. 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 The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without res ...

, 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.

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games

Gareth Evans clinched his first Commonwealth Games medal during the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Gareth 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Dundee Welsh male weightlifters Welsh Olympic competitors Olympic weightlifters for Great Britain Weightlifters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games medallists in weightlifting Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games