Amelie Pelta, the 17-year-old from Edgware known as 'Britain's Strongest Schoolgirl', is competing at the 2026 European Junior Weightlifting Championships while building a social media following of 130,000 people. The college student is using her platform to challenge long-standing stereotypes about weightlifting, showing that women can embrace femininity and lift heavy weights at the same time.
Pelta shares training clips, personal best lifts, and days in her life across Instagram and TikTok, where the majority of her followers are women under 24 years old. Her journey is part of a broader effort to normalise strength sports for girls and break down the idea that weightlifting is exclusively a men's sport.
A message of femininity and strength
“It’s just that idea that you can still be girly, be your own self, while also lifting big weights,” explained Pelta. “You don’t need to hide away from it, thinking, ‘oh, I don’t want muscles,’ or ‘I don’t want to look like a boy,’ because I think it’s cool. It’s something you should be proud of.”
She admitted that entering the sport was intimidating due to its reputation as a male-dominated activity. However, she now embraces the contrast, saying, “I’ll have a massive bow in my hair, while I’m going to try to lift PB weights and go up against the best in Europe.” Pelta aims to continue growing her following and promote the idea that strength training is accessible and enjoyable for girls.
Historic progress in women's weightlifting
Women's weightlifting was only introduced to the Olympics at Sydney 2000, while men's weightlifting debuted in 1896. Since then, trailblazers have shifted perceptions. In the UK, Emily Campbell became the first British woman to medal in Olympic weightlifting with silver at Tokyo 2020 and added bronze at Paris 2024.
Campbell serves as a key inspiration for Pelta, who is 15 years younger. “I definitely have my sights set on the Olympics, and just getting up the rankings in weightlifting as I go,” said Pelta. “If I ever get to that level, I just want to be like Emily Campbell. She’s so inspiring and definitely sends the right message about what weightlifting is like and helps break away from the stereotypes.”
Records and ambitions
Pelta has already broken multiple British and European youth records and is Gymshark's youngest ambassador. Balancing full-time education with her athletic career, she remains focused on achieving new personal bests at the European Championships.
Reflecting on her journey, she said, “Even when I flew out here [to the Europeans], I was like, ‘this is just crazy.’ I was getting my head around the competition and what I wanted to achieve.” She added, “PBs are the aim. I’m definitely in shape to be able to do that. It’s just about putting it all together on the day, but that’s definitely the goal.”
Pelta also highlighted the dual nature of her experience, planning social media content while representing Great Britain. “I was sitting there thinking, ‘How lucky am I to be able to do all this? I am flying out for GB, while also planning my social media ad posts and working with brands I’ve loved,’” she said. Her immediate goal remains achieving personal bests at the European Junior Championships, while her long-term ambition is to follow Campbell's path to Olympic success.
