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A 22-year-old powerlifter has been given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent Team GB at a global contest, despite only starting weightlifting less than a year ago - and having cerebral palsy.
Rachel Leck was asked to represent the national team at the World Classic Bench Press Championship in Tokyo after taking second place in the British championships last month.
But the accolade comes just under 11 months after she lifted weights for the very first time as part of the 'Power to Podium' Programme of the Jersey Sport Foundation (JSF).
Pictured: Rachel with her second place trophy.
The programme rounded up a team of 10 wonder women, selected through a physical test and a psychological evaluation, to become Jersey's first ever team of Olympic female weightlifters.
While Rachel was captain of the women's tennis team while at Hull University, she had never done any weightlifting before joining the programme. Despite being new to the sport, she scored high from her very first competition, equaling her Personal Best (PB) and unknowingly qualifying for the British Classic Bench Press Championships in February.
At the competition, Rachel took the second place after lifting 57.5kg and 62.5kg - a big achievement she celebrated rather modestly with only a big box of donuts and a "massive dinner" before retuning to her normal routine.
Her performance also saw her receive an unexpected invitation to represent Great Britain at the World Classic Bench Press Championships, which will take place between 18 and 21 May in Tokyo.
Pictured: Rachel (front, middle) with the 'Power2Podium' team.
"My initial reaction was shock as hearing “World Championships” and “represent Great Britain” after just five months of competing is astonishing really," Rachel confessed. "Then I was just really excited to go and be a part of Team GB so early on!"
While Rachel was aware that taking part in the British Bench Press Championships would enable her to be considered for international selection, she says she never imagined she would get selected.
"We hadn’t really planned what would happen if I did," Rachel said. "But it will be an amazing experience to compete in the World Championships at Junior level as it is a once in a lifetime opportunity as I become a Senior next year where my weight category is a lot more competitive!"
With only a few weeks to go before the competition, Rachel is looking for sponsors to support her journey.
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As for her training, she won't be changing much, as her current formula is reaping benefits. "I think we are just sticking with the training programme we have in place, my coach Samuel Morris is doing a great job creating a tailored powerlifting programme specifically for para powerlifting and it is working so far!"
Rachel's team - Grace Bravery, Florrie Copley, Abbie Le Marquand, Laura Makin, Hannah Medder, Amy Moore, Rhea Munro, Charlotte Neale, Katie Penn and Samantha Petrean - and coaches were delighted to hear about her selection.
"The rest of the Power 2 Podium team were very proud of me and as they have had bench in their programme recently I think they appreciate more how hard it can be and it is great knowing I have all their support," Rachel said.
The team has a lot to be proud of. Rachel's achievements are not only impressive due to her having started training under a year ago but also because, while she qualifies as a Para athlete - she has cerebral palsy - she is scoring high in mainstream competitions.
John Scriven, Head of Services at JSF, said that Rachel’s selection after only five months competing was an "exceptional achievement." "This combined with the fact that she has made the team as someone with cerebral palsy makes it all the more remarkable," he added.
"Although Rachels main aspiration is to compete in Para-Powerlifting the selection is a great mark of her progress over the last 10 months of training and a good indication of her progress on the pathway to Birmingham 2022 and beyond," Mr Scriven said, explaining that while a world championships is exciting, the JSF team will keep in mind that classic bench press is not Rachel’s main sport. "There will be some very serious athletes there, as such we will be viewing it as a training competition to help prepare and get her accustomed for future international representations and travel as a para-athlete," Mr Scriven said.
He added: "The real victory here is that Rachel has been able to demonstrate to herself and to other/potential female and disability athletes in the community that with hard work, consistency and vision you can achieve great things regardless of background or circumstance’."
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"I would say if you are struggling with any disability and are doubting yourself to just believe in what you can do because it might give you an opportunity you least expect," she said. "You won’t know until you try and although it is hard, it is important to do things outside your comfort zone as that’s when great things are achieved."
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