Self-coached Scottish weightlifter lands unexpected Commonwealth Games medal - 'somehow I've ended up here'

A former CrossFit athlete, the 27-year-old only decided to transition to weightlifting back in February 2024. The firefighter by day never envisioned that he would be competing for Team Scotland on home soil just two-and-a-half years later.

Adding to his surprise, the current British champion, originally from Buxton in England but qualifies through his Scottish father David, thrilled a lively home crowd by earning a bronze medal in the Men's 88kg class, with a combined total of 309kg.

To make his unexpected podium finish even more impressive, Doig has got to this stage without the assistance of a coach. He trains alone in his garage gym set-up, conducting rigorous daily training blocks.

His unique home-based approach to training paid off tremendously at the SEC Armadillo on Tuesday as he finished just one kilo ahead of Englishman Chris Russ as gold went to Hafizuddin Bin Roslin Muhammad of Malaysia, who set a new Games record of 345kg. New Zealander Cameron McTaggart won silver on 338kg.

"It was unbelievable," a jubilant Doig told The Scotsman. "An amazing experience having all my family sitting in the front rows cheering me on. They had all made signs and t-shirts, so going out for the presentation at the start was really cool seeing them all out there.

"I had no intention of getting a medal, in all honesty. I thought I would maybe finish around fifth or sixth. I just wanted to turn up and do the best I could, so it wasn't in my mind. I'm over the moon.

"The snatches didn't quite go to plan, so I made my opener at 135 kilos and then missed 140 and 142, but I knew I was still up there in contention. I just had to give it a big push in the clean and jerk. I opened slightly conservatively to get that first opener in and then clicked into gear from there.

"I knew it was going to be a bit of a battle between Chris [Russ] and myself as we've had a few back and forths previously, so my main goal was to finish ahead of him. It worked out well and the support I received was incredible, the whole arena just erupted, it was incredible."

Explaining his decision to commit fully to the sport, Doig revealed: "I started out doing CrossFit for 11 years and then two and a half years ago I decided to make the transition just into weightlifting. I train by myself in my garage, it's just me, I don't have a coach or anything and the goal was just to get as strong as possible. Somehow I've ended up here!"

Disappointment for West Lothian star

Later in the day, Olympic silver medalist Beth Ashbee overcame a nervy start in the Snatch to nail her 85kg lift at the third attempt, but had to settle for ninth place overall in the Women’s 63kg competition after failing in her bid to press 104kg overhead in the Clean and Jerk.

A former gymnast, the Livingston-born athlete was successful with her opening two lifts of 95kg and 100kg, but was unable to advance any further as gold went to Maude Charron of Canada, with England’s Sarah Davies Smale claiming silver and Femily-Crystie Notte of Nauru in bronze position.

“It was a crazy experience,” Ashbee reflected. “I can’t thank everyone enough for their support. I was a bit nervous at first, it probably wasn’t my best performance, but we’ll come back stronger for the next Commonwealth Games in four years time in India.”