EVANS GRABS FIRST GOLD FOR WALES
FOUR years ago he missed out on a medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Since then former painter and decorator Gareth Evans has spent 58 hours a week pushing himself to his physical limits in pursuit of glory.
Yesterday all his work paid off as the weightlifter took home Wales’ first gold at this year’s event – and his sensational celebrations more than matched his achievement.
When he was announced as the winner of the men’s 69kg category at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia, Evans grabbed hold of a Wales flag, held aloft his coach Raymond Williams, and then dashed towards the crowd inside the arena to celebrate wildly.
Speaking about his triumph, Evans said: “This medal has been 20 years in the making for me – but it still feels unreal.
“I’ve worked so hard and I knew I could do it, I was raring to go and I knew that this could be my time.
“Sitting waiting for the final lift was the hardest – the gold was in reaching distance and I wanted to bring back the first gold of the Games for the team.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. Having the medal around my neck means so much, although wrapping the flag around me means as much to me.
“As for the future – who knows? I’m just living in the moment now.”
Evans gave up his trade as a painter and decorator and moved from his home in north Wales to Leeds so he could train with other GB weightlifters at Headingley’s national performance centre.
The work paid off as he represented Team GB in the Olympics and went on to strike gold for Wales on the Gold Coast.
Evans’ lift of 299kg held off the challenge from Sri Lanka’s Indika Dissanayake Mudiyanselage, while Deepak Lather of India claimed bronze.
It was the home nations’ first medal on day two of the Games.
Evans, 31, originally comes from Scotland but has Welsh ancestry. He spends 58 hours a week in the gym preparing for competititve action.
He now lives in Holyhead, Anglesey, and trains under the Welsh national weightlifting team coach Williams, who himself won gold in the featherweight class at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, at his gym in Holyhead.
He also works as a sports assistant at the Canolfan Brailsford Sport Centre at Bangor University.
A huge fan of Wrexham FC, he tweeted a picture of himself in a Wrexham shirt saying: “Well what a day!
“Could you tell I enjoyed that performance? Had to wear my true colours.”
Speaking to the BBC, Evans said he found it hard to keep the tears back once he had won the gold.
He said: “It was hard not to get a bit teary, to be honest. Like every Welshman I’m ridiculously proud.
“To stand up there with the gold medal is special.
“I dread to think what’s going on at my mum and dad’s house at the moment.
“I missed out on a medal in Glasgow and vowed I would never miss a medal again. I have let that spur me on for the past four years.
“I don’t know what the future holds, to be honest – I have done everything I set out to do as a weightlifter.”