A woman who hated exercise took up powerlifting to fight her arthritis and is now a federal gold medalist in the sport.
He is in better shape than when he was in his 20s and has won gold, silver and bronze medals in weightlifting.
Kelly Clark, 58, can’t even close the trunk of her car because of her arthritis. Her obesity worsened her condition, and in the face of both her severe joint swelling and the “drug cocktail” prescribed for it, she took up weightlifting instead.
At the age of 49, Clark first saw a doctor after suffering side pains and being unable to do simple household chores.
They diagnosed her with osteoarthritis. This is a painful condition that leaves the patient with joint stiffness and pain.
But nine years later, Clark has lost a third of his weight. Her bench is her 165 lbs. (75 kg), she was able to get off all medications.
“The trunk of my car wouldn’t close. I couldn’t carry a shoulder bag over one shoulder, and I couldn’t reach the kitchen cupboards above my head,” says South Yorkshire. Clark said. “It changed my life in so many different ways. I went from being totally unsuited to arthritis meds to quitting and lifting it.”
“I traveled a lot for work, so I didn’t do any type of exercise on a daily basis,” Clark said. It meant living outside.
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“But when I took the medication, it really triggered. I don’t want to continue like that,” she added, saying it interfered with her sleep.
Weightlifting cured everything, but her recovery also prompted her to take up the competitive side.
In 2017, she was volunteering as a referee at a Special Olympics event and decided she wanted to give it a try.
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By 2019, she had qualified for Team Great Britain’s World Powerlifting Championships before competing in the 2021 World Bench Press Championships. After that, she went crazy.
She went on to win gold and silver for England at the biannual Commonwealth Championships in New Zealand last month after lifting record weights in the ‘equipment bench press’ event in her weight category. rice field.
She won a gold medal in the ‘Equipped Bench Press’ and a silver medal in the ‘Classic Bench Press’. This is the best result in the world competition so far.
“Both competitions were on the same day, so it was pretty tough. I had to do two weigh-ins because I had to keep my weight within certain limits,” Clark said. “I was running between the weigh-in room and the podium for the second competition.
Kelly won the gold medal in the 132-pound championship lift. She (60kg) said it was a “dream” to participate in a world competition funded by her employer, Keepmoat.
“Ten years ago, if someone had told me that I would be a mobile like this, let alone compete in an international competition, I would never have believed it.”
Kelly’s exciting fitness turnaround…
