A fund has been launched by a Cumbrian mum so she can compete in the powerlifting world championships.
Sharon Holmes, 50, from Carlisle, recently won the British Masters under 63kg class, which led to her selection to compete for Great Britain at the World Classic Powerlifting competition in Canada this October.
Now, she just needs a little community support to help her get the rest of the way there.
So far, she has competed 13 times, twice internationally for Great Britain in Hungary and Sweden, all of which have been self-funded. But this time, the costs of getting to Canada are much higher, with flights alone costing £750 to £950.
In addition to the travel costs, the mum of one is facing added pressures from kit fees, accommodation and anti-doping tests.
Sharon first got into powerlifting six years ago, after she noticed her talent for strength training during gym sessions with a personal trainer.
She quickly moved on to work with Carlisle trainer Jimmy Nsouli who specialises in the sport. She then joined a powerlifting club set up by Jimmy where initially, she was the only woman.
She said: “It just started off as a way of keeping fit and healthy and has become a way of life, it’s part of my routine like brushing my teeth, I just kind of live and breathe it.”
Her first competition took place at the Sands Centre in Carlisle which she found terrifying at first, but enjoyable, and as a result, she continued to compete.
She now trains with professional trainer Tom Martin, who is well known in the world of powerlifting.
Sharon’s love for the sport led her to getting other members of her family interested, her 30-year-old son, Jason Holmes, now competes and has coached his mum at competitions before.
Her own mum also took to the sport, and supported her at several competitions. Sharon added: “My mam lost her partner and I got her involved in going to the gym just for the social side so she could make some new friends.
“She actually tried powerlifting herself and really enjoyed it, so she started training with the same guy who was training with me at the time.
“She saw me compete internationally in 2019 and I promised her I would compete for Britain in every Masters category I am alive for.”
Sadly, Sharon’s mum was diagnosed with cancer but she credits powerlifting for helping her mum cope with the major operations she underwent.
“Unfortunately, we found out she had cancer and she had to have quite a big operation, but she had got quite fit and healthy and quite physically and mentally strong with the training she did.
“It really helped when she had the operation because she had quite major surgery and recovered from it well, the doctors said if it hadn’t been for that she would have taken a lot longer to recover.”
Sharon added: “She didn’t survive, but it was a thing that kept me going almost on her behalf. It all means a lot, to compete in Canada would mean everything, really.”
She explained that alongside doing it for her mum, she felt pride representing the country as a local girl from Carlisle. She also felt it was important for people in their 40s and 50s to know that it’s possible for them to do something like powerlifting and that if they want it enough, they can do it.
So far, Sharon has found the support to be incredible and said she was blown away by the kindness of local people.
To help Sharon, visit www.gofundme.com/f/help-sharon-get-to-world-powerlifting-champs
