Sonny Webster
Sport/Event: Weightlifting, 94kg
Date and place of birth: High Wycombe
Club: Empire Bristol
Coach: Andy Sutor and Tamas Feher
Representational honours: England (Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, 2014), Great Britain (Olympic Games, Rio, 2016)
Biography:
Sonny narrowly missed out on selection for London 2012 and Delhi 2010, but finally got a chance at a major international competition when he was named in England’s weightlifting squad to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
A golf fanatic with a promising career in the sport as a youngster, Sonny came to weightlifting in rather an unusual fashion. In 2005 at his school in Ivybridge, Devon, he was given detention for distracting other lifters when they were training. He was made to try it as a punishment and never looked back.
Once his weightlifting career has come to an end, he hopes to turn his attention to his first love, golf, and become a professional player.
Road to Rio
At the IWF World Weightlifting Championships in December 2015, Sonny demonstrated his Olympic potential when he recorded three personal bests.
In the men’s 94kg category, he achieved a best-ever snatch lift of 151kg. He then set a new PB of 188kg with his third and final lift in the clean and jerk to accomplish a new individual record combined total of 339kg.
University of Bath graduate Sonny was then crowned British champion in June a day after completing his Sports Performance degree.
