Weightlifting superstar Emily Campbell is used to being a trailblazer and now the double Olympic medallist is looking to create a lasting legacy.

Fresh from winning weightlifting bronze in Paris, to add to the silver she won in Tokyo, Campbell returned to her local gym in Alfreton as part of the launch of the new ChangeMakers Fund, an opportunity created by The National Lottery’s operator Allwyn, Team GB, ParalympicsGB and UK Sport, to help fund athletes who want to tackle community and socially-important projects.

Campbell has voiced her enthusiasm for the initiative and was part of its official launch, with £100,000 provided for athletes to create their own projects which will positively impact their local towns and cities.

Campbell said: “I’ve come full circle with the ChangeMakers Fund project, having helped launch ChangeMakers before Paris.

"It’s a fantastic scheme where athletes can apply for funding to support their local community projects, whatever they feel will make a big community impact.

“It’s something I’m massively passionate about and have always wanted to do and eventually, I want to open my own gym. 

"It’s about youth development so that people in the community can come and enjoy weightlifting and have a safe space to do that. When I found out about this project, I thought I had to be involved.

“I come from a community that didn’t have many opportunities. People weren’t shown that there was life outside where we lived.

“I was lucky that I had parents who showed me the life outside and always gave me opportunities by driving me here, there and everywhere to do better. 

"But not everybody has that so I want this to provide a space to give the community that. I definitely feel like I’ve done something positive.

“I’ve had so much love from Nottingham as a whole and then definitely where I’m from. They are really proud of me, they have helped me in the beginning as a community and now, I feel like this is the only thing I can do to give back to them and say thank you, showing them there is a big, wide world out there that they can go and get involved in.”

By standing on the podium in Paris, bringing home Team GB’s 65th and final medal, Campbell became the first British weightlifter to win Olympic medals at successive Games since Louis Martin, 60 years ago.

Competing on the final Sunday of competition and watching on as Team GB brought home medals every day of the Games, Campbell had to be patient.

But she was thrilled to bring down the curtain on such a successful Olympics.
She said: “Paris was an incredible experience. To be able to perform in front of what was basically a home crowd, so many British flags, my family and friends was really, really special. And to go there and perform like I did was the icing on the cake.

“It was a really nice environment to be in and somebody has to close the show and this time it was me.

“I like performing and putting on a show. There was a bit of pressure to close the show well but I think I used the pressure in the right way.”

Sally Munday, the CEO of UK Sport, paid tribute to Campbell and her commitment to sustained social impact.

She said: “I think the ChangeMakers programme can have a significant impact. What we know from talking to the British athletes is that doing something back in their local communities is really important to them.

“They want to use the platform of their success to have an impact on society, either locally where they grew up or where they are now, or for some athletes, bigger causes around the environment or sustainability. 

"You see the reaction of the people to Emily being here and coming back to where it all began for her, people’s faces are lighting up that she is here. 

"One of the reasons that Olympic and Paralympic sport are so loved in the UK is that we really see that it’s just the girl next door, boy next door, who have the talent and then become exceptional. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things and Emily is a fantastic example of that.”

The ChangeMakers Fund is an initiative that is a partnership between The National Lottery’s operator, Allwyn, Team GB, ParalympicsGB and UK Sport to support Great Britain’s athletes to make a positive difference to social impact projects they are passionate about.