A Whitsunday weightlifter is on top of the world after conquering the best master athletes on the planet.
Weight-lifting coach Leanne Knox won the 69kg 40-44-year-old title at the Masters Weightlifting IWF World Championships in Finland recently.
Knox produced a 69kg snatch and a 90kg clean and jerk to lift a personal best total of 159kg.
The teacher was also crowned the best lifter of all 40-44-year-old athletes across all weight categories.
“The majority of the girls I lifted against were ex-senior members of their country,” she said.
“So the quality of the competition was pretty good… they’d all been competing for a while.”
Remarkably, it was Knox’s first world championships event after just two years in the sport.
Despite her lack of experience in comparison to her counterparts, she found herself pitted against lifters who had contested Olympic events.
“The best thing about the whole experience was being surrounded by people who had over 50 years experience in the sport,” she said.
“I learnt a bit – plenty of technical tips from different European and American lifters.
“Overall it was a great experience, not just competing but being able to bring the title home to the Whitsundays.”
Courtesy of: Daily Mercury