A Douglas teenager has been making waves in the world of weightlifting in recent weeks.

Sixteen-year-old Harry Lee, a full-time student at University College Isle of Man, competed in the British Weightlifting Championships in Leeds recently where he finished second in the under-17 age category.

Prior to the event, Harry received training and support from Daniel Bonett, the head coach at Twenty Twelve Fitness in Braddan, whom he would like to thank.

Following his silver medal, Harry was invited by British Weightlifting (BWL) to attend a talent camp at Brunel University in London.

There he was selected by BWL to enter their performance pathway which is designed to help athletes progress in weightlifting at an elite level.

The pathway includes a place on the Diploma of Sporting Excellence (DiSE) programme and he recently attended his first BWL talent camp at Loughborough University.

Having made the move to weightlifting under the talent programme only weeks before, Harry then competed at the Liverpool Open and placed first in the senior men’s 55kg category, beating the winner of the weight category above (61kg).

His new personal best total has placed him fifth in Great Britain in the senior men's 55kg national rankings and second in the under-17s.

Harry would like to thank Isle of Man Sport for the support he is receiving from the TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme) and PDP (Performance Development Programme) scheme.

Harry said: ‘TASS/PDP means I always have support and guidance available and I can also train at the High Performance Centre which has fantastic equipment, enabling me to complete all my training sessions as set by my BWL coach.

‘Without this opportunity it would be very difficult for me to train. I am very grateful for the support I receive with both my training and education, from TASS/PDP and from my tutors at UCM.

‘We are extremely lucky on the Isle of Man to have this level of support for young athletes.’

Harry is also able to benefit from Jake Chapman's weightlifting coaching expertise at the Isle of Man Sport High Performance Centre, providing on-island support for his training programme.

If anyone is interested in starting their weightlifting journey, they can contact Jake at [email protected]

SPONSORSHIP

His trip to the DiSE camp was his fourth to the UK in less than two months, therefore it is proving very expensive for Harry to attend these various events as he aims to continue the successful start to his weightlifting journey.

If anyone is interested in supporting Harry through sponsorship for his competitions, training camps and DiSE camps in the UK, please contact [email protected]