Overview
- Watson secured bronze with a final successful bench press of 147 kilograms at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Friday, finishing third behind Nigeria’s Folashade Oluwafemiayo and Rita Ferdinand.
- Oluwafemiayo dominated the event, setting a world record with a 175kg lift to take gold while Ferdinand took silver with a 158kg lift.
- Watson competes while living with bilateral metaphyseal dysplasia and chronic, around-the-clock pain and has had at least a dozen leg surgeries in recent years, including double osteotomies.
- Para-powerlifting at the Games uses a points system that adjusts lifts for body weight, which affected rankings and highlights the gap Watson aims to close with more experience and training.
- Watson’s bronze builds on her 2022 medal that ended Australia’s 16-year para-powerlifting drought and strengthens her platform to raise the sport’s profile as she pursues LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032.