Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Britain’s only female weightlifter at Rio started doing chin-ups aged just nine months. Seventeen years later she’s at the Olympics, sponsored by a butcher who gives her free lamb chops.
Rising star Rebekah Tiler owns a host of British weightlifting records and comes into the Summer Games on the back of three bronze medals at the European Championships in April.
The teenage prodigy will make her Olympic debut in the women’s 69kg category on Wednesday, the latest milestone in her quest to bag gold at Tokyo in four years’ time.
Tiler, who hails from a sporting family in the north of England, first showed signs that her future may lie in being strong before her first birthday.
“I started walking at nine months and one day my mum was doing something and I started doing chin-ups on the table,” the 17-year-old told AFP in an interview.
“My mum was like ‘she’s not supposed to being doing that’. Maybe I had seen my dad doing it. He used to do bodybuilding — not professional, just for himself,” she added.
It was one day aged only three when she went into the garage, where her father had a small gym, to tell him dinner was ready, that she lifted her first weight.
“I saw him doing loads of biceps curls and stuff. I was like ‘ohhh’. I started picking them up and I really liked it. I did biceps at home and then went on from there,” she explained.
Tiler was also a promising sprinter however, and that was where her focus lay until her coach took her to a gym when she was 12 and she showed up the older men.
“I was really strong and was beating 20-year-old lads! One of the weightlifting coaches there said if I did weights I would be world class!” she exclaimed, after completing her final Rio training session.
Tiler went from strength to strength and became the youngest weightlifter to win a senior British women’s title in 2014 when she was just 15 years of age.
She then narrowly missed out on third place at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow later that year before her triple bronze at the European Weightlifting Championships in Norway a few months ago.
– Top eight –
Tiler, who weighs in at around 67kg, recently left school to focus on her weightlifting full-time and relies on the support of some generous sponsors, including her local butcher.
“I go down and see him every week to collect my meat. He gives me free chicken, steak and eggs and even lamb chops so it’s pretty good!” she beamed.
“Without my own sponsors I wouldn’t be here so I’d just like to thank them. They pay for everything — my expenses, flying to these places.”
Tiler described being in Rio as “amazing” and has already caught a glimpse of her sporting hero Usain Bolt.
“I tried to get a photo but he was too quick — hood up, headphones in. I think I’d be starstruck if I met him,” she said.
Tiler plans to start the snatch on 95kg and the clean and jerk on 120kg. She’s one of only two British weightlifters at Rio — the other being Sonny Webster, who will compete in the men’s 94kg.
“I’d just like to get into the top 10. Top eight would be really good because I’m only 17 and it’s my first Olympics,” said Tiler.
“But it’s just about experience because my main focus is 2020. That’s where I want to get gold,” she added.
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