Garage Firefighter and Malaysia Depth Flip Glasgow Weightlifting Day

Firefighter Angus Doig grabbed Scotland’s first Commonwealth Games weightlifting medal with a 309kg total after three rivals collapsed, while Canada claimed a double gold through Maude Charron and Charlotte Simoneau and Malaysia secured a fourth title to lead the table on Day 3 in Glasgow.

The programme passed halfway at the SEC Armadillo with drama on every platform. Doig had already left the arena before the final clean and jerks decided his fate.

The Firefighter Who Left Early Then Won Bronze

Doig, 27, trains alone in his Peak District garage after switching from CrossFit only two and a half years ago. He won the British Championships this year and arrived aiming for top five. His snatch-clean and jerk-total of 135-174-309 sat at least 25kg short of a normal medal mark. He trailed the leader by 27kg at halfway.

He finished interviews and packed up. Then athletes from Australia and Mauritius failed. Canada’s Braydon Kennedy missed three times at 182kg. South Africa’s Will Swart failed 181kg and 182kg. Doig returned to the warm-up area and could not watch Swart’s last attempt at 183kg on the big screen.

When I heard the barbell hit the platform I knew he’d missed it. It’s absolutely unbelievable, and here I am back doing more interviews.

Doig said the podium “was never on the cards.” His Scottish father David told the crowd: “We knew he could lift really well but to win a medal, I’m in heaven. We’ll have a big party tonight and everyone’s invited!” The family watched inside the arena. Qualifying through his father, the Manchester-based firefighter became the unlikely hero of the home session.

McTaggart’s Silver and a Glasgow Haka

New Zealand’s Cameron McTaggart took silver on 154-184-338 despite the Scottish-sounding name. He led a Pou Tangata haka, created for his country’s Olympic and Commonwealth teams, on the platform after the ceremony. The crowd applauded loudly.

“I have Scottish heritage from my dad a few generations back, and they were from Glasgow, but I’ve never been here before,” McTaggart said. “This medal was ten years of hard work in the making, and it’s great that my family were here to watch.”

Malaysia’s Hafizuddin Roslin won gold on 162-183-345. The 22-year-old had finished second to Kennedy at the Commonwealth Championships the year before. Here is the final men’s 88kg podium:

The result capped a chaotic session that rewarded consistency over paper favourites.

Four Golds Put Malaysia on Top

Roslin’s win was Malaysia’s fourth gold in three days. The team sat atop the weightlifting medals table. Malaysian Weightlifting Federation president Ayub Rahmat said the haul already marked the country’s best Commonwealth Games performance in the sport.

• Earlier golds came through Aniq Kasdan (60kg), Aznil Bidin (65kg) and Erry Hidayat (79kg).
• Federation target sat at five golds with Syahmi Nor Ghazali still to come at 94kg.
• “Usually we just have one or two winners,” Rahmat said. “This success shows that weightlifting can become one of Malaysia’s leading medal-contributing sports at major multi-sport events.”

The depth reflected years of focused investment. Even after meeting an earlier three-gold mark, the squad kept adding titles. Fans on X called the run “damn crazy” as the fourth gold landed. The federation’s stake in the sport turned a supporting event into a medal factory.

Charron Holds Off a Courageous Challenge

In the women’s 63kg, Olympic champion Maude Charron of Canada finished on 102-130-232. She missed her second clean and jerk then recovered. That left her 15kg clear of England’s Sarah Davies Smale.

Davies Smale, who turns 34 next month, jumped 16kg to 138kg for a final attempt. “I did 134 once when I was a 71, but I’ve never got near to 138,” she said. “But of course I was going to have a go.” She got under the bar before crumpling. Charron called it her signature move and said she was rooting for her rival: “She was courageous, for sure.”

Davies Smale totalled 95-122-217 from just two good lifts. “Probably my best two from six ever,” she said. She and husband Ed postponed their honeymoon for the Games and now head to Madagascar for three weeks. Nauru’s Femily Notte, 17, took bronze on 100-116-216. Davies Smale called her “the next generation” and joked that such performances might force retirement.

Charron, 33, already owns Olympic gold in Tokyo and silver in Paris. She combines lifting with coaching and a Canadian Olympic Committee project aiming to bring a million youngsters into sport. She heads to the IWF World Championships in China in October. Davies Smale described her as “one of the great weightlifters of our generation.”

Simoneau’s Record Night at 69kg

Charlotte Simoneau, 21, delivered Canada’s second gold of the day. The former junior world champion won the 69kg on 108-132-240 and set a Commonwealth clean and jerk record. She missed 135kg on her final attempt and therefore left her own total record untouched.

New Zealand’s Olivia Selemaia, second at the World Juniors last year, bombed out in the snatch for the second straight international meet. India’s Harjinder Kaur took silver on 101-126-227. Australia’s Nya Hayman earned bronze on 97-121-218. Scotland’s Maddie Rosher finished fifth on 214kg to big home cheers.

Simoneau had endured an injury withdrawal and a sixth-place senior Worlds finish in recent years. “In my first senior competition I felt more stressed,” she said. “I have had plenty of time to be ready for this, working on technique, getting stronger, adjusting to being a 69, and I felt ready. In China at the start of the Olympic cycle I will be even more ready.”

Home Cheers Across the Scottish Session

Doig’s bronze lit up the Armadillo, but other Scots competed hard. Beth Ashbee placed ninth in the women’s 63kg. Rosher’s fifth-place total drew sustained support. The nine-strong Scotland weightlifting team included four British champions selected earlier in the year.

The day fitted a broader Glasgow 2026 pattern of home moments. Elsewhere athletes chased records in the hammer and stepped into the boxing action in the Glasgow ring. A hammer record at the same Glasgow Games had already given Canadian fans something to cheer. Weightlifting added the emotional peak.

Team Scotland posted the news of its Team Scotland’s first weightlifting medal post within minutes. TNT Sports captured the crowd reaction and the meaning for the host nation. The garage path, the family in the stands and the late failures by stronger rivals created a story no seedings predicted.

The IWF report on Glasgow Day 3 captured every attempt and quote. Malaysia still hunts a fifth gold. Canada heads to Worlds with momentum. Scotland celebrates a medal that arrived after the lifter had already left the building.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the men’s 88kg weightlifting at Glasgow 2026?

Hafizuddin Roslin of Malaysia took gold with 345kg (162 snatch, 183 clean and jerk). Cameron McTaggart of New Zealand earned silver on 338kg and Angus Doig of Scotland claimed bronze on 309kg after several higher-seeded athletes failed their clean and jerks.

What was Angus Doig’s path into Commonwealth weightlifting?

Doig switched from CrossFit to Olympic weightlifting only two and a half years before Glasgow. He trains alone in a garage in England’s Peak District, won the British Championships in 2026, and qualifies for Scotland through his father David.

How many Olympic medals does Maude Charron hold?

Charron won gold in the 64kg class at Tokyo 2020 with a 236kg total and silver in the 59kg class at Paris 2024, also with 236kg. She added Commonwealth gold at 63kg in Glasgow on a 232kg total.

Did Charlotte Simoneau set any records in Glasgow?

Yes. Simoneau set a Commonwealth Games clean and jerk record with 132kg on her way to the 69kg gold and a 240kg total. She missed a final attempt at 135kg that would have raised her total record as well.

How many weightlifting golds did Malaysia win in the first three days?

Malaysia won four golds through the first three days, including Hafizuddin Roslin’s 88kg title. Federation president Ayub Rahmat called it the nation’s best Commonwealth weightlifting haul and kept a target of five alive.