SWINDON weightlifter Stephanie Knapp was left with mixed feelings after the British Weightlifting Championships in Coventry.

Knapp came away with sixth place in the 63kg category at the Ricoh Arena, where she was able to record a 67kg snatch and 93kg clean and jerk, giving her a competition personal best total at 160kg.

The Swindon weightlifter missed an attempt at 97kg clean and jerk, but was able to get the clean, which was a lifetime best for Knapp, who trains out of CrossFit gym.

Her success is down to a family effort, as she is coached by her husband Luke and brother Harry Palmer, who own the gym.

Primarily a CrossFit athlete, Knapp turned her attentions to weightlifting two years ago and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

“I had a brilliant time at the event. This time I feel I had really found my confidence on the lifting platform and had a much better mindset going into it,” said Knapp, who is searching for further improvement.

“A little bit of experience goes a long way, which meant I could really just enjoy the day. It was extremely well run and the organisers backstage were so helpful.

“There are some improvements to some of the technical aspects I want to address. Weightlifting is a very technical sport.

“Strength and flexibility play a big part, but without technique, it’s very difficult to progress. The aim is to be as efficient as possible moving the bar from A to B.

“You need to factor in position, timing and speed at various points over a matter of seconds and execute them well.

“Finding faults isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Knowing my technique isn’t perfect means there is room for improvement and means that I am capable of lifting more than I am right now by putting the work into refine the movement.”

Knapp trains twice a day, five days a week and practices weightlifting three or four times within that schedule.

After recording her lifetime best, Knapp is eager to get back into the sport and reach 100kg as soon as possible with slight technical tweaks.

“My short-term goals, working with my coach (and husband) Luke, are to improve my technique,” added Knapp.

“I’d love to be able to clean and jerk 100kg one day. I remember when I couldn’t even deadlift (floor to hips) that weight, so getting it over my head would be an achievement.

“Long-term goal is to keep on building up my numbers and increase my total in competition. I want to work my way up the national rankings.”