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'I won World's Strongest Woman after having two children'

'I won World's Strongest Woman after having two children'

BBC News6 days ago
When Donna Moore began competing in Strongwoman events, the results attracted the attention of a small but dedicated group of followers on Facebook groups.More than a decade later, the three-time world champion will be in front of a crowd of 1,400 for the Britain's Strongest Woman final at the York Barbican this weekend.Moore, 45, grew up in Colburn, near Catterick in North Yorkshire, but did not discover weightlifting until she was already a mother of two children wanting to improve her fitness."I started training in a normal gym at classes where there's about 30 people and you're doing aerobics or light weights, because I wasn't very confident and I didn't know anything about how to go into a gym by myself."I did these classes and I enjoyed it, the camaraderie between the people, and it made me want to turn up."When I got a little braver I went to a regular gym and learned a few different things to do. And through that journey, progressed until I got signposted to a more independent kind of gym that was focused on heavier lifting."In the early 2000s, she would watch World's Strongest Woman and the men's competition on TV and thought the events were "really cool", but she knew little about how to enter."Fast forward 10-12 years, I've been hooked ever since and it's what I've been doing for the past decade."
Many entrants used to train and compete in car parks, but specialised gyms now cater for their needs and events are held in indoor venues."It's gone from competitions where they were outside or in fields or in car parks to selling out the Barbican. And that's the third year in a row," said Moore."It's grown so much in participation because it is more accessible. Obviously social media has helped."She has 54,600 followers on Instagram and yet until recently she worked for the NHS.She now makes a living training other women alongside her competition income."I wouldn't say you're able to do it as a job. I coach as my job, so it's helped me to have a job in that respect. So that's great. But no, I don't think, especially people from the UK, there are any of us who are solely competing."We all have other avenues to be able to compete."In the US, strongwomen have more opportunities, and in Scandinavia the sport is more widely accepted, but things are changing in the UK – with more strongwomen gaining higher profiles."There's lots of people from America who are very good, in other European countries, in Scandinavia, they get it a little bit more. So it's been more prevalent for a longer time."But now the UK is starting to see that women being stronger is acceptable, and society's norms are changing. So that's helped the growth of the sport a lot."The change, she added, is reflective of a wider societal shift from focusing on losing weight to gaining muscle."People see the benefits of being strong and when you start weight training it is a little bit addictive, because you see the changes in your body and how much better you feel, so you keep going."It's more commonplace that women don't mind having muscle."I think it's really because they've realised how much better they feel for lifting weights."
Saturday's competition will see Moore joined by deadlift world record holder Lucy Underdown, former rugby player Rebecca Roberts and world record holder for the log lift, Andrea Thompson, among others."It's a really tough line-up. There's loads of world titles all mixed in to this competition at very high standards, so it's going to be a really tough day."I have my own personal goals set within this competition. Some of these events are a little bit more tricky for me, so I'm hoping to have fun, put on a good show for the crowd and the people who watch it on the live stream."The event involves a deadlift ladder - four deadlift bars in a row – a 136kg shield carry, a 280kg yoke carried across the back, and reps with a 90kg wooden log."And then at the very end, it's a sandbag steeple chase, which is 200kg bag down a 20m track, and you have to load them over and implement in the middle, so essentially you have to pick it up four times and run quite a long way."Despite the challenges, Moore said the homecoming was what she was excited for."My family are all coming to watch this time. York's obviously really beautiful and the Barbican is a nice venue, so I am looking forward to coming home to compete for it."
Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
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On the Right Track: Dreams of being an F1 superstar may be on hold, but British speedster Jamie Chadwick's drive to inspire next generation of female racers is stronger than ever
On the Right Track: Dreams of being an F1 superstar may be on hold, but British speedster Jamie Chadwick's drive to inspire next generation of female racers is stronger than ever

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

On the Right Track: Dreams of being an F1 superstar may be on hold, but British speedster Jamie Chadwick's drive to inspire next generation of female racers is stronger than ever

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Despite her team failing to finish, thanks to problems with their car, Chadwick was quick to impress on her debut at La Sarthe. 'I think you take a lot away from it in terms of the roller coaster of emotions,' she told Mail Sport. 'You have to remember that Le Mans doesn't owe you anything. 'I think if anything, our expectations became a bit too high as the race went on, because of how smoothly it was going initially. However, I think that makes you more motivated. You know that it can be taken away from you in a heartbeat.' One of the hurdles for female drivers trying to get into F1 is that there is lack of power steering in F2 cars: the traditional pathway to F1. The strength therefore required to drive those cars puts women at a physical disadvantage, although — ironically — there is power steering in F1. 'It's a barrier that might not need to be there,' admitted Chadwick. 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'The oft-given response is cost, but I know plenty of team managers who would say that the cost is actually negligible. If you were learning to fly a fighter jet, you wouldn't be training in a helicopter. So why does the series preceding F1 have a different methodology, a different set up? 'I do think they should bring in power steering to F2 cars, because I don't think the reasons not to are valid. It helps everyone — not just female drivers.' Stanton, who played a vital role with British Cycling as Head of Academy and worked across Olympic and Paralympic cycles, has a long history of science and performance in sport. He told Mail Sport part of the challenge here remains around 'opportunity' — but he's adamant that women will compete one day in Formula 1. 'Everybody wants the first female F1 driver on the grid. Nobody necessarily wants to be responsible for developing them. I don't think it's fair to say, however, that that's their fault. 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Joe Root moves to second on Test all-time run-scoring list as he anchors England into dominant position against India in fourth Test
Joe Root moves to second on Test all-time run-scoring list as he anchors England into dominant position against India in fourth Test

Daily Mail​

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Joe Root moves to second on Test all-time run-scoring list as he anchors England into dominant position against India in fourth Test

One by one he ticked them off, run by run he ascended the pantheon. Joe Root began the third day of the fourth Test against India placed fifth on the all-time run-scoring list. By lunch, he had clambered above Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis. By tea, he had elbowed aside Ricky Ponting. Only Sachin Tendulkar now stands between him and immortality, and that gap – 2,521 and narrowing – will surely be overcome before Root hangs up his bat. Not yet 35, he is in the form of his life. For the moment, he could simply enjoy the adulation of a lively Old Trafford on a day when England – 544 for seven at stumps, with an imposing lead of 186 – took control of the match, and probably the series. Not even the temporary retirement with cramp of Ben Stokes after his first half-century of the summer could dampen the mood. Amid his rearrangement of Test batting's Mount Rushmore, Root ticked off his 38th hundred. It was celebrated first by a 20,000-strong cheer, then by the familiar war cry of 'Rooooot' that has echoed round English grounds this past decade and more, and sounds disconcertingly like a prolonged jeer. As if. Root is that rarest of beasts: a humble master, a down-to-earth champion, as popular this side of the Pennines as he is on the other. Yorkshiremen are not often welcome here, but Root – a Sheffield lad – has won over the locals by confirming his credentials, again and again: he is now the only player in Test history to pass 1,000 runs at this ground. Each of the three men above him in the order had threatened to play the innings that would crush Indian spirits. But Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett had perished on the second evening for 84 and 94, and on the third day Ollie Pope reached a semi-restorative 71 before poking Washington Sundar to slip soon after lunch. 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Zen Malik and Beau Webster impress as Warwickshire see off Worcestershire
Zen Malik and Beau Webster impress as Warwickshire see off Worcestershire

South Wales Guardian

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Zen Malik and Beau Webster impress as Warwickshire see off Worcestershire

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