Coleg Menai weightlifting stars in Wales team for Commonwealth Championships

Coleg Menai students past and present will represent Wales at next month’s Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in India.

Cian Green and Nikole Roberts have been selected to compete at the Championships in Delhi, India from July 11-16, as they target qualification for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Multiple Welsh champion Cian, who studies Level 3 Fabrication and Welding at Coleg Menai, is set to compete in the men’s 73kg competition.

And British champion Nikole, who was on the Sport (Outdoor Education) Level 3 course at the college last year, will contest the women’s 55kg category.

Cian, who is from Nantlle near Penygroes and trains at Canolfan Brailsford in Bangor, is the reigning Welsh senior and under-20 champion.

Last year he placed second while representing Wales against tough opposition in the International Junior Battle in Austria, and also helped his country earn silver in the Celtic Nations team event in Scotland.

He was crowned senior Welsh champion in Haverfordwest in December, before retaining his U20 title in February with a 108kg snatch and 137kg clean and jerk, hitting the qualifying standards for the Commonwealth Championships.

Cian said: “Two weeks ago I got the call that I have been selected to go to India, and I can’t wait. I’ve got very high hopes for the Commonwealth Championship and I’m buzzing to go!”

He thanked Coleg Menai for its support as prepares to head halfway across the world, saying: “Coleg Menai is down the road from where I train – I’ve had nothing but support from everyone and can’t thank them enough.”

Having originally got into weightlifting in order to strengthen up for rugby, Cian is hoping to represent Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria in three years’ time.

Nikole, from Bangor, is the reigning British U23 and U20 champion. She was the Welsh senior champion in 2021, but was unable to defend her crown last year of injury.

She represented Great Britain at the IWF Youth World Championships in Saudi Arabia in 2021, and last year broke British records while competing in the European Junior & Under-23 Championships.

Nikole is hoping to medal in India, and said: “It’s exciting. It’s a big part of the build-up to the Commonwealth Games in 2026, as I’ll be competing against people who could be at those games.

“I qualified in a spot for a medal, so hopefully I can adapt to the conditions in India. It’s going to be much hotter than it is here, and the food is going to be a little bit different so I’ve had help from my nutritionist in terms of what I can and can’t eat.”

Nikole says during her time at Coleg Menai, staff were a big help in terms of allowing her to fit in competitions and training sessions – especially her tutor Andrew Collins.

“My tutor Andy was really helpful whenever I needed to take time off to compete or to go back and forth to Nottingham, where British Weightlifting is based,” she said.

After leaving Coleg Menai, Nikole worked in Fitness First in Bangor, but has now left that job to concentrate on the Commonwealth Championships. She still runs her own online coaching sessions from her Instagram account.

Following the Commonwealth Championships, she will be studying sport science and nutrition at the University of Nottingham, where she can be close to British Weightlifting’s training centre.

Like Cian she will be targeting a place in the Wales team for Victoria 2026, and will be aiming to medal at international events in the run-up to those Games.

Cian and Nikole will be joined in the Wales team by Charlotte Whalley, Emma McCready, Niamh Collins, Leah Clarke, Michael Farmer and Harry Nelms.

The team will be supported by coaches Ania Negele, Christie-Marie Williams and Simon Roach over the course of the event in India.

A spokesperson for British Weightlifting said: “British Weightlifting would like to congratulate Mikey, Cian, Harry, Nikole, Charlotte, Emma, Niamh and Leah on their selection, and wish them all the best in training and competition.”

For more information on courses at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, click here.