NHS doctor Jonathan Chin will represent Team England in the men's 71 kg weightlifting event at his first Commonwealth Games.
The 32-year-old balances 50–70-hour NHS workweeks in Nottingham while training for international competition.
Chin said resilience and discipline have helped him balance medicine with competitive weightlifting.
NHS doctor Jonathan Chin will represent Team England in the men's 71 kg weightlifting event at his first Commonwealth Games after balancing 50–70-hour workweeks in Nottingham with elite-level training. The 32-year-old physician from Chapel Brampton, Northamptonshire, will compete on Monday. Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton, Chin said choosing both medicine and weightlifting required resilience and discipline to succeed in two demanding careers.
Jonathan Chin, a 32-year-old NHS doctor from Chapel Brampton, Northamptonshire, works between 50 and 70 hours a week in Nottingham while preparing for his first Commonwealth Games appearance. According to the BBC, he will compete for Team England in the men's 71 kg weightlifting event.
Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton presenter Annabel Amos, Chin said, "I chose to be a doctor and I chose to be a weightlifter, so I knew I had to be resilient."
He added, "There are days when I just don't want to train, and obviously, like most people, I just don't want to go to work." Chin said staying disciplined helps him remain committed to both careers because they were choices he made willingly.
Ahead of the official weigh-in, Chin said that he weighed 71.5 kg and needed to lose another 500 g to meet the 71 kg limit.
Before taking up weightlifting, Jonathan Chin competed as a sprinter and long jumper. After an injury interrupted his athletics career, he joined a local gym for rehabilitation, a decision that unexpectedly led him to the sport.
Recalling how he discovered the sport, Chin told BBC Radio Northampton presenter Annabel Amos, "I used to be a sprinter and a long jumper. Got injured doing that. Went to a gym near me to rehab my injuries and it just happened to be that, in the back of that gym, they had a weightlifting area." He added that after training alongside experienced lifters, he realized he was "much better at weightlifting" and decided to make the transition.
According to the BBC, Chin traveled to India in 2023 to win a major weightlifting medal just days after completing his university examinations.
Chin said maintaining both careers comes down to personal commitment rather than convenience. "But being really, really disciplined and knowing I made these choices, I want to be here. I've got really, really great opportunities ahead of me," he told BBC Radio Northampton. His Commonwealth Games debut reflects years of balancing medical training with elite competition.
(Rh/TP/MSM)