Inverness powerlifter is selected to represent Scotland in international competition
EMMA Kesterton is aiming to show her strength when she competes on the international stage for the first time in her career.
The Inverness athlete has been called up to the Scotland squad to compete at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship in South Africa.
Kesterton will be taking on top athletes from Commonwealth nations at the competition which takes place in Sun City on Wednesday, October 9.
Selected to represent her country is an incredible achievement for her, considering she only took up powerlifting two years ago.
Kesterton, who works in psychological services for Highland Council, was selected after impressive performances in Scottish and British competitions.
Now she is looking forward to competing on the global stage and putting in an impressive performance in South Africa.
She said: “I was selected based on my competition results as I have been competing for a couple of years now.
“I won the Scottish Masters Championship in my weight class for the last two years.
“Because of that I got selected to compete for Scotland. It will be my first international competition so I am really excited to take part.”
Despite being physically active throughout her life, Kesterton only competed in her first competition in November 2022.
It was quickly ascertained she had real talent for powerlifting, winning competitions across Scotland and setting new records.
Kesterton, who trains at The Forge Gym in Inverness, is now excited to see where the sport can take her in the future.
She said: “I always enjoyed going to the gym, but I never had much of a focus.
“I have always been really competitive, I competed in horseriding when I was younger.
“I started powerlifting a couple of years ago as I wanted something to focus on as I felt drained mentally and physically. I wanted to feel stronger in myself.
“I started lifting weights and I got a personal trainer and from that I found out I enjoyed squatting and deadlifting and I started powerlifting.
“My powerlifting coach is Annie Nelson, she is one of the best women in the world at it and it was important for me to have a female coach. A lot of the time, people consider lifting weights a men’s sport and it can be daunting lifting weights in a men’s gym as a girl.
“I had my first competition in Aberdeen in November 2022, I went with no expectations and just wanted to have fun and ended up winning my class. I thought if I work hard at this it could lead somewhere.”
Kesterton’s personal bests in powerlifting include 122.5kg in squat, 165kg in deadlift and 60kg bench press.
She hopes that she can record new personal bests in South Africa and is looking forward to representing her country.
She said: “I am hoping to get a personal best in all my lifts and I have made a lot of progress since my last competition. I have been training hard and upping my totals. It is not something you can rush, I will try my best and have fun along the way.”
