An IT specialist within United Welsh's Technology and Transformation team has been selected to represent Wales in Powerlifting at the Commonwealth Championships in Canada – despite only starting the sport three years ago.
Mel Rawsthorne, who works at United Welsh as Software and Development Principal, will be competing as part of the Wales team at the Championships in September.
Mel, who lives in Cardiff, started strength training around three years ago when she was looking to take up a new form of exercise.
She said:
“During my first session the focus was deadlifts, which turned out to be one of my stronger lifts. The coach taking the session assumed I had trained before, and when I told him I hadn't he looked at the weights I was lifting and said, ‘That is not normal'.
“In the next few weeks, he kept suggesting I should compete as I was not far away from some of the records set in competitions. So, I thought I would give it a go. I did my first competition that summer and properly fell in love with Powerlifting.
“I've done a lot of training now, but when I first started out it was just natural strength. I don't think women are as encouraged to be strong. I guess men are a little bit more when they are younger, but women not so much. So, I was quite late in finding out I had all that natural strength.”
Just a year after her first competition, Mel broke the Welsh deadlift record by about 20kgs. Soon after she competed for Wales and finished fourth in the British Championships.
Mel broke the Welsh deadlift record for a second time in the Welsh Championships, lifting 240kg. She also broke the Welsh total record too, totalling 572.5kg, meaning no other woman in Welsh Powerlifting has lifted more.
She trains for around 10 hours per week and says flexible working at United Welsh helps her schedule.
Now Mel is looking forward to competing in the Commonwealth Championships and is hopeful of a podium finish.
Mel added:
“It's been very surreal how it's all happened so quickly.
“I'm really looking forward to the experience and am incredibly proud to represent Wales.
“There are about four of us very close to third place, so the dream would be to make the podium at the Commonwealth, but it's going to be a tough fight.”
