DOUBLE Olympic medallist Emily Campbell is determined to relish every moment of her time on the big stage and complete the job of inspiring a whole new generation of girls to flex their muscles.

Campbell did not give weightlifting a second thought until shortly prior to the Rio 2016 Games but her inspiring trajectory since has seen her blaze a trail that others are showing every sign of emulating.

The 32-year-old is heading into her third Commonwealth Games as the defending 87-plus kg champion as well as a six-time consecutive European gold medallist — a remarkable feat for someone who had not given her sport a second thought the last time the event was held in Glasgow in 2014.

“I didn’t even really know what weightlifting was in 2014,” Campbell told PA. “I remember watching Glasgow 2014 on the TV but I was glued to the athletics because that was what I was still hoping to get into at that stage.

“In 2014 it was still considered very unusual to show an interest in weightlifting, but now you have conversations with a lot of women and it’s considered normal, so I do think the perception of the sport from a female perspective has really changed in that time.”

Zoe Smith was the only member of England’s six-strong women’s weightlifting team to win a medal in Glasgow. In April this year, a Great Britain women’s team topped the medals table at the European Championships in Batumi, Georgia, with seven medals, including successful title defences for both Campbell and her team-mate Sarah Davies.

Such statistics provide concrete evidence of the success of Campbell’s mission to shatter old stereotypes and make weightlifting an attractive option to young female athletes, which she first espoused moments after claiming her stunning and unexpected silver medal at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“It’s nice to see we’re making strides now because it’s something we had to work really hard for when I started weightlifting,” added Campbell, who carried the England flag at the opening ceremony in Birmingham in 2022 before following up with a hugely popular gold medal.

“I was passionate about it and I believed it would happen, but to see it happen is really special. The sport for women is absolutely booming, we’ve got little girls wanting to be strong and parents who are a lot more receptive. I’m glad I’m still around to see it and be part of it.”

Campbell will pursue her third Commonwealth Games medal as part of an eight-strong England women’s squad in Glasgow, and says her bronze medal in Paris two years ago has given her a new lease of life having originally targeted the Games in France as the culmination of her top-level career in the sport.

“The plan was to medal in Paris and then retire,” revealed Campbell. “But I decided to stay in the sport because I had a feeling I wasn’t done yet. I’m in the sport for me now, and everything I achieve from here on is essentially a bonus.”