A real weight off their minds

WEIGHTLIFTING GYM WHERE YOUNGSTERS GIVEN REAL PURPOSE SAVED FROM CLOSURE

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor [e-mail]

EARLIER this year, a Llandudno gym had dwindled to 15 members and was on the brink of closure. Eight months later, it is riding the crest of a wave having produced a new British champion.

Diamond Weightlifting on James Street was a thriving after-school club that supplied more than its fair share of competitors to the Welsh development squad. But by March 2025, it was just weeks away from shutting down after membership plummeted.

Under new management, numbers have doubled and the gym’s enthusiastic squad of young lifters are shining again. Leading the way is 13-year-old Charlie Ellis-Perry, from Colwyn Bay, who struck gold at September's British Junior Championship in Birmingham.

Charlie, who has been with the gym from the age of seven, made six out of six lifts for a winning total of 112kg.

Meanwhile, teammate Izzy Deakin, 14, claimed bronze.

Iwan Pemberton, 16, smashed his personal best and his sister, Della, a Welsh squad member, built on previous achievements.

They're looked after by local couple Claire and Phill Higgins, who took charge of the gym on April 1. Supporting them are two qualified coaches and some enthusiastic parents.