Laurence Keen won the under-100kg British BDFPA Benchpress Championships in Stafford.

Nine years after his last full season of competition, Keen, 38, lifted a personal best of 192.5kgs - just over 30 stone - at a body weight of 95.9kgs. He decided to re-enter the competition fold after six years away from the sport last year, coming second after just six weeks of training.

With his focus regained for the championships this year, he started his training in full last November, winning his qualifier in January and then attaining first place at the British Championships.

Keen said: “After a successful training regime, as well as amazing support from my family, everything came together on the day and I was ecstatic to achieve a PB.”

Keen, who is the Finance Director at Hollywood Bowl, will continue to train for the next two months before making a decision about entering the World Championships, which are being held in the UK in June.

There was also success for Shachar Head in the T3 80kg category. Renowned for combined lifts or ‘full power’ event competitions, Head, 18, took on the squat and deadlift as single lifts in preparation for the British Full Power Championships, which will take place at the same location in March.

Head set British, European and world records in the 18-19-year class with lifts of 157.5kg (squat) and 175kg (deadlift). Her effort in the squat also broke all of the long-standing Drug Free Federation records in the Open category.

Head has been training with the supportive team at Winners 2000 in Newton Abbot, as well as honing her lifting techniques with local strongman Guy Servis at The Plymouth Performance Gym.

While training in Plymouth, Head has also been working with the Navy team, who are based at HMS Drake.
Head said: “Powerlifting can be a very individual sport and I’d like to thank the Navy team who helped me immensely and were extremely supportive.”

She now has her sights set on further success at the British Full Power, the World Single lifts, 4 Nations in Glasgow and a possible trip to Sicily for the World Drug Free Powerlifting Federation Full Power Championship.
On top of this she hopes to commence studies for a Sports Degree at the University of St Mark and St John in Plymouth in September.