Berck-Sur-Mer 2018: Ali Jawad planning comeback

“I am very realistic that the Commonwealth Games may have come a little early for me in terms of medals or lifting maximal weights due to the time I have been back training, but the European Championships provides me with more time to get back on some sort of form.”

Ali Jawad had a difficult 2017. The British powerlifter had his longest Crohn’s flare up since being diagnosed with the disease in 2009 and could not compete at the Mexico City 2017 World Championships.

“During a flare up of my symptoms it is very difficult to maintain any form of daily life and training,” the 29-year-old said. “It was very disappointing not being able to compete in Mexico City, however, it made me realise that if I was fully fit I could be very competitive.

“This gave me a lot of hope during the recovery process. Even though my absence at international competitions could be seen as a negative, the time off made me reassess how I tackled my health in the past. With the help of British Weightlifting staff we have implemented a plan to reduce the likelihood of another flare up.”

Due to the amount of time off Jawad have had, he has focused his training on getting himself back to full fitness, using a smarter way of training to not exert himself to limits he cannot recover from.

“I have to improve on listening to my body and adapt every training session on how I feel on that particular day,” he said. “The British Classic Bench Press Championships were a great warm up for me and it was good to finally compete at national level in a new environment.

“However, I still have a long way to go in my recovery, but I am looking forward to the process of getting healthy and competitive again on the world stage.”

Jawad will make his comeback at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, from 4-15 April, followed by the European Open Championships, set to take place in exactly 50 days in Berck-Sur-Mer, France, between 25 and 29 May.

“I have some incredible memories from past editions of both competitions and it has given me a great focus in my recovery from Crohn’s disease. As they are so close to each other it will be very difficult to peak for both; I am looking forward to the challenge of competing at international level again.

“I am very realistic that the Commonwealth Games may have come a little early for me in terms of medals or lifting maximal weights due to the time I have been back training, but the European Championships provides me with more time to get back on some sort of form.”

The first continental competition of 2018 will be the European Open Championships in Berck-Sur-Mer, France. The official website can be found here.