Inverness based powerlifter shows her strength to win gold on world stage
Charlie Penney showed her strength to win gold at an international powerlifting championship in the United States.
The Inverness based athlete claimed first place in her category at the World Drug Free Powerlifting Federation All Power Championships in Cape Cod.
The 29-year-old, who relocated to Inverness this summer from the West Midlands, finished top of the podium, in the Open Age Under 80kg category.
It has followed up an impressive 2024 for Penney, who also had success competing at the World Drug Free Powerlifting Federation Single Lift Championship in Amsterdam earlier this year.
It has been a meteoric rise in powerlifting for Penney, considering that she only took up the sport last year.
She says that she was delighted with her performance to lift the title in the United States and that her hard work and dedication had paid off.
She said: “This was my first full power championship, it was so far to travel to which made it an even bigger event.
“I am pretty good in my category and I am normally on the podium in competitions as I work so hard for it.
“There were some girls in the category that I recognised that I was up against.
“But I still had to graft and do myself and my coach proud and do my best on the day of the competition.
“Winning the competition is the second best title of my career. I would rank Amsterdam just higher where I competed in each individual event rather than a combined competition.
“But it was amazing to go overseas with my family and do what I loved on a world stage again.”
During the competition, Penney, who trains at The Forge Gym in Inverness, lifted 155kg in squat, 85kg on bench press and 192.5kg in deadlift giving her a combined winning score of 432.5kg.
Penney is relatively new to powerlifting, only taking up the sport last year. She says she was looking to do something different than she was used to and says it has now completely changed her life.
She said: “I only started powerlifting last year when I saw a Facebook post for a gym that promoted a 12-week strength programme for women.
“I needed a change of scenery and I needed to invest in a personal trainer for myself. The person they assigned to me was a competitive powerlifter who recognised my abilities and encouraged me to compete. Here I am almost two years later competing in international competition.
“I used to be involved in team sports with my sister and I wanted to get back into a sport and find a community.
“I did not know what powerlifting was before starting that 12-week programme. But I fell in love with the gym and pushing myself and then competing followed.”
Penney is looking for more success on the world stage in 2025, but is also keen to encourage other people into the sport and get the benefit out of it that she has.
She said: “My goals are trying to get world record in that federation, there are still a couple of years work to get there.
“But I will look to keep competing. I am looking to do personal training courses so I can start doing that too.
“A few people reach out to me and ask if I can be their online coach.”
