Team Scotland’s weightlifters are raring to go at Gold Coast 2018 with Lisa Tobias set to kick off their campaign inside the stunning new Carrara Sport and Leisure Centre.

With Weightlifting and Powerlifting taking place on the first six days of competition, Tobias takes to the platform first on at 14:00hrs (05:00hrs UK time) on Thursday 5 April in the lightweight 48kg category. The 37 year old mother of two has an amazing story, with the former gymnast having only taken up Weightlifting after watching Glasgow 2014.

Fifth in the Commonwealth Championships held in the same venue last year, Tobias said: “I had a brilliant Commonwealth Championships last year and with it being in Gold Coast, the whole venue and everything about it was so inspiring. To know I kept my composure under that sort of pressure gives me a lot of confidence. To think that I’ll be back in that same place to compete again for the Games is so exciting, I can’t wait!”

Competing in the 58kg event a day later Jodey Hughes has a similar story, also taking up Weightlifting post 2014. Up against some top competitors she’ll focus on breaking the Scottish record and hoping to place as highly as possible.

Sunday will see Sydney based Scott Wilson go in the 94kg event, whilst his teammate Zach Courtney is in action on Monday evening in the 105kg event. Both men boast a combined personal best of 313kg, the sum of their snatch and clean & jerk bests.

Micky Yule is the final Scot in action in the Men’s Heavyweight Powerlifting and he will perhaps pose the biggest medal threat.

An agonizing fourth in Glasgow, Yule is gunning for silverware down under, despite a series of injury setbacks over the past 12 months. The World, European and Invictus Games medallist commented: “In September I had an operation where they had to break my left femur to complete the surgery, after which I had three months of intensive rehab. A week after I’d completed it I then re-broke it in a different place, so I’ve had two femur breaks in the last five months. I was discharged from hospital on 9 March and I went straight to Edinburgh and I’ve been training like a caveman since!

“Success is medals – I came fourth in Glasgow and I’ve had more sleepless nights from coming fourth than I did after my injury. It doesn’t bug you for a week or a month, it bugs you for four years. That’s the thing for the Commonwealths or the Paralympics, it’s one pop every four years and it’s the same for everybody. There’s no excuses, but on 10 April it has to happen and that’s the mind-set I’m taking in.”