How strength found me
I found strength by accident.
Sport was my escape at school and I threw the javelin at county level. I dreamt of representing my country at the Olympics one day, but sport wasn’t a career for someone like me to follow, so eventually I let that dream go.
Then the 2012 Olympics came to London and something in me woke up. I was inspired to start throwing again, but after continued injuries I ended up in the gym trying to strengthen my shoulder. That’s where I was told I was ‘freakishly strong’. So I swapped javelin for powerlifting and went on to represent Great Britain at the World Championships, winning gold and later becoming a British record holder.
Eight years later, in 2026, I was back at the World’s again. Getting there wasn’t easy. I failed to total at my first qualifier of the season and left in tears. Thirteen days later I went back and qualified. A few months after that I won silver at the British Championships, followed by silver at the World Championships in Manchester.
That sporting dream I thought I’d let go of all those years ago came true.
What powerlifting has taught me
Powerlifting has taught me patience and discipline. It’s taught me not to run away from discomfort! To go back when things haven’t gone the way I wanted them to.
This year probably taught me that better than anything.
It’s also shown me something quite simple… confidence doesn’t have to come first. Sometimes you just have to do the thing, however nervous you are, and let the confidence catch up afterwards.
Destination Deadlift
In August 2026, I took an Olympic bar and weights into the Dubai desert to deadlift at sunrise.
Why? Because after deadlifting at -23°C in the Arctic earlier this year, it seemed like a perfectly sensible thing to do next!
Destination Deadlift is about taking something I love doing and doing it somewhere completely unexpected. No big masterplan. Just a slightly ridiculous idea, a bit of curiosity and a willingness to see if I can actually pull it off.
Strength beyond the gym
For me, strength has never just been about medals or numbers. Of course they matter. I train bloody hard for them! But they’re not really the point.
What matters more is what all of this has given me outside the gym. I trust myself more. When something feels difficult, I know I can deal with it because I’ve proved that to myself over and over again.
That’s a very different kind of strength. The kind of strength that seems to be lasting!
I think real strength is something you build slowly. Sometimes you don’t even realise you’re building it until life gives you a reason to use it.
I’m not interested in proving how strong I am to anyone else. It’s really personal.
I just want to know that whatever comes next, I can keep going.
The kind of strength that lasts
That’s the kind of strength I’m interested in.
The kind you build slowly, and keep.
Strength isn’t about proving anything. It’s about knowing you can keep going.
