Chris Murray reels off his list of injuries and it is scarcely fathomable he has just lifted 325kg.

Murray can laugh about it now with a Commonwealth Games bronze medal around his neck, but the 27-year-old knows he has been to the well and back in order to earn it.

The Guildford athlete won gold at Birmingham 2022 but has since endured shoulder, elbow, quad and hamstring injuries, plus a bout of shingles.

Murray went under the knife for shoulder surgery just a year ago and feared he would miss the Games altogether.

Yet the 27-year-old defied the setbacks to put down a huge performance at the SEC Armadillo, lifting the same weight he won gold with four years ago while two kilos lighter.

While it was bronze this time, it was arguably a more remarkable achievement given what Murray has battled through.

“The last two years have basically been injury, injury, injury,” he said.

“In 2024, while trying to qualify for the Olympics, I suffered an avulsion fracture in my elbow. I tore the UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) off the bone and had surgery on that.

“Rehabbing that, I then tore my hamstring, a grade 2C [tear], doing stupid hamstring curls trying to get a bigger booty.

“Then it was a quad tear, shingles, another quad tear, osteolysis in the shoulder, tendon tear, leading to another shoulder surgery, and then finally getting back.

“Honestly, when I went in for the shoulder surgery, I didn't think I'd be this close to where I am now.

“To come back and put up a PB total, matching the total I lifted in Birmingham, I'm buzzing.

“I'm just glad everything came together in time. We've been describing it in training as ‘baking the cake’.

“You can't keep looking in the oven door to check whether it's ready. We just had to hope that when that timer dings and the Commonwealth Games comes around, I'd be ready. Luckily, I was.”

Murray lifted a combined total of 325kg, equal to the Games record he set four years ago.

He was beaten into bronze by gold medallist Erry Hidayat Muhammad of Malaysia, who set a new record of 331kg and India’s Valluri Ajaya Babu in silver.

That has given Murray even more hunger as he chases his Olympic dreams, and the Guildford lifter has gone all in on his dreams by quitting his job.

He said: “There are certain funding criteria I need to meet, and if I want to get to Los Angeles, I need to improve.

“Today was great, but at the end of the day I'm third in the Commonwealth, and only the top eight in the world make the Olympics. I've got to get better. That means sacrifices.

“I loved my job with British Weight Lifting. I worked with clubs and schools, helping set up gyms and introducing weightlifting to the next generation. I genuinely loved doing it, and I think I left things in a really good place.

“Walking away was difficult, but I knew that if I wanted to give myself the best chance over the next few months, it was something I had to do.

“For now, I'm all in. If it works, fantastic. If it doesn't, I'll know I gave everything I had and won't have any regrets.”

Murray will be steeled by the hard times he has endured, though admits he did not need quite a large helping of injuries.

“More than anything, it's given me an appreciation for weightlifting,” he reflected.

“I love training and I love competing. Being forced away from it made me realise how much I enjoy it.

“I wouldn't wish injury on anyone but if you do get injured, the lessons you learn can be incredibly valuable.

“That said, I probably didn't need quite so many injuries to learn those lessons. I think I got the message pretty quickly.

“Still, I'm happy with where I am now and grateful for the experiences.”

James Reid/Sportsbeat 2026