NHS nurse becomes powerlifting world champion after frontline return

A frontline NHS hero has used her formidable strength to become a champion powerlifter.

Maureen Gordon, a retired Lanarkshire nurse who returned to the NHS as a vaccinator, swapped hospital shifts for squat racks to win two gold medals at the powerlifting world championships.

The 57-year-old lifted more than one-and-a-half times her bodyweight to claim the top spot.

Ms Gordon told STV News: “It was a fantastic achievement.

“I felt on top of the world – when I came home and people referred to me as a world champion, I was thinking, ‘me?’ you know, ‘who are you talking to? Oh, it’s me!’

“You know, so a bit of disbelief and a whole lot of emotions all mixed in together but yeah, I’m super happy.”

Powerlifting is a sport the former nurse stumbled upon by accident but now her next goal is to take home gold at the British championships in January.

She said: “I met people who were involved in powerlifting, and I thought I quite like this, I like the challenge of it.

“British powerlifting is a great sport to be part of – it’s very inclusive.

“You can be any age, any size and you can go into gym and train away.

“Get healthy, get fit and enjoy the social part, of course, as well.”