Charlotte Metcalfe still lives with the effects today
A powerlifter who suffered a serious brain bleed just weeks before a major competition went on to win a silver medal – despite the life-threatening risks.
Charlotte Metcalfe is no stranger to sporting injuries, having suffered nine concussions over the span of her career.
But last year the 20-year-old managed to bag a silver medal at the GPC World Championships – all while unknowingly suffering from a deadly subarachnoid haemorrhage.
A month before the competition in Slovakia, Charlotte hit her head on a barbell at her local gym, initially brushing off the injury.
But within a day, her condition deteriorated and the pain became unbearable – the young woman finding herself struggling to stay upright when she arrived at A&E.
“I was training squats, and due to the prior eight concussions, my spatial awareness was awful,” Charlotte, from Oldham, told the MEN.
“And before I knew it, I had hit my head on the barbell. It’s ironic given the least severe head hit caused the most damage because the prior injuries caused it to be more vulnerable.
“[The injuries] was certainly different in the past. You feel a bit woozy, but my friend noticed my pupils went large all of a sudden.
“I remember being so disassociated I couldn’t stand properly—my legs wouldn’t stop shaking.
“I had never had that before. To suddenly have no strength in my legs, I knew there was definitely something weird there.”
After 16 hours in hospital and passing the standard neurological tests, Charlotte was sent home. She spent the next two weeks in bed before having a brain scan.
And despite experiencing persistent headaches and severe fatigue, she chose to compete and flew out to the World Championships in Slovakia just a few weeks after the injury in September 2024.
“Because I picked up a bit of weight from the stress, I had to do a severe calorie deficit of 400kcal a day – porridge pot and a light-calorie yoghurt and just water,” she added. “I was malnourished and dehydrated.”
When she saw a rival open with a 100kg deadlift, she decided to push herself beyond her limits. Drained, in pain and barely fit to stand, she pulled a personal best of 112.5kg and walked away with silver.
However, upon returning home to the UK, the results from her brain scan were back – she had suffered a brain haemorrhage. Charlotte is now undergoing MRI scans and continues to experience severe head pain, tremors in her right hand and memory loss.
Despite her traumatic ordeal, Charlotte, who is studying law in University of Law in Manchester city centre, says powerlifting has helped her through the most difficult times of her life – once even facing homelessness after estrangement.
While she acknowledges the risks she took, she hopes others will be more cautious, now urging young athletes to take head injuries seriously.
Now, with post-concussion syndrome, she faces an uncertain future. The tremor in her right hand worsens with stress, her knees feel unstable and a letter confirming “brain changes” hit hard.
The hopeful barrister has been told that, despite her youth and fitness, some of her neurological conditions are typically seen in the elderly.
Yet having trained at Olympic Sports Gym in Ashton under the guidance of former Manchester United strength and conditioning coach Mick Clegg, Charlotte remains hopeful her training means she will one day return to sport in some capacity.
“I would hopefully go into the Olympics in 2028,” she said. “That’s the goal if doctors clear me.
“I still do fitness and bodybuilding and can still lift, but I don’t do it as frequently purely due to increased risks.
“I now want to help others who’ve experienced injuries in athletics or neurological conditions. When I started telling others about it, I didn’t realise it was so common. It was nice to know I wasn’t alone in this.
“More importantly, my next goals are to look forward to the next impossible challenge, despite knowing there’s a chance I can succeed. It’s knowing that there’s that slim chance of success that drives me.”
