Sheli McCoy

Sheli McCoy (born 1989) is a British weightlifter and television personality.

She set three Scottish weightlifting records in 2023.

She appears as Sabre on the on British TV endurance sports game show Gladiators.

Originally from Windsor, Berkshire, McCoy graduated with a master’s degree from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, before living in the Menzieshill area of Dundee.

She competed in five British Weightlifting Championships events and CrossFit championships, and became Scottish champion in both sports.

She set three new Scottish records in Olympic weightlifting at the Scottish Championships in 2023.

In 2024, she appeared as Sabre on the on BBC One television endurance sports game show Gladiators.

Although she suffered an injury during the semi-final stages of the competition, she was described as a “standout" and a "breakout star" from the television show. Initially, she wanted to be called Alpha, the name of her pet husky. The success of the series has been credited in part to the popularity of new Gladiators like Sabre, Diamond and Fury.

She was a guest speaker for the Dundee University in February 2024 giving their Annual Public Lecture in Entrepreneurship.

She was a guest on the BBC Sounds podcast For Fitness Sake in March 2024.

That month, she also appeared on the BBC One charity fundraising show Comic Relief.

Her parents were both army sergeants.

Her mother, Kaz, was in the Royal Signals and her father, Sean, was in the Scots Guards.

She has a brother.

Her father died in a car accident when she was three years-old.

She is the co-owner of a gym in Dundee alongside former professional ice hockey player Sam McCluskey.

She also is a qualified sports rehabilitation therapist.

She is teetotal.