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24
Sept 2023
The Harrogate powerlifter eyeing a Paralympics 2024 spot
Harrogate’s Charlotte McGuinness has her sight set on the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
The 22-year-old powerlifter has competed in World Cups and European Championships since taking up the sport as a teenager.
Powerlifting has taken her to Georgia and the United States to compete in major tournaments.
But, for Charlotte, the ultimate goal is to bench press on the world stage at the Paralympics.
Picking up the weights
Charlotte initially started out as a swimmer.
When she turned 16, she realised that being a swimmer was “probably out of reach for myself” and turned her attention to powerlifting.
She picked up a set of weights while still studying at St Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate.
From there, she was enrolled onto a talent pathway which included training at Loughborough University - which she still does today.
She was set on a development programme in June 2019 which tracked her powerlifting progress.
From there, her career trajectory began to climb.
She competed in the Para Powerlifting World Cup in Manchester in 2020 just before the coronavirus pandemic.
Charlotte McGuinness pictured competing in the World Cup.
Covid forced her to set up a gym at home, where she followed her development programme.
Nowadays, she mixes it up and uses local gyms as well as her bench press training at home.
She returned to Manchester in March 2021 to compete in the Para Powerlifting World Cup.
This time, she won bronze in the women’s up to 50kg category with a bench press of 74kg.
A year later, she competed in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in a World Para Powerlifting event.
The championships was her first away on her own for a lengthy period of time.
However, despite the restrictions of the pandemic, the competition is one she fondly remembers.
"I really thought sport was all physical. But it’s really not."
Charlotte then went on to compete in senior competitions, including a World Cup in the United States.
Despite the upward trajectory, not every competition has been smooth sailing.
Charlotte says her performance in the European Championships in October 2022 was a particular low point when she didn’t manage to make the lift that she wanted.
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She says the toll of training can often have an impact on her mental health.
Charlotte has been working with a clinical psychologist to help keep her focussed heading into some major tournaments in the lead up to the Paralympics.
She returned to Georgia a year later to the same venue and lifted a personal best of 94kg.
Now, she is hoping to make it to Paris for the Paralympic Games in 2024.
Aiming for the Paralympics
To qualify, she needs to remain in the top eight of the British ranking going into the new year.
A crucial competition for her to remain there will be the World Cup in Cairo, Egypt, next month.
Charlotte McGuinness, pictured at a competition in Dubai.
For Charlotte, the goal is to get a 97kg lift on the board in order to retain her place in the top eight.
To keep her focussed on the task in hand, Charlotte’s coach has written down the names of the girls who are also competing for that top eight ranking.
Reaching the Paralympics would be a milestone for Charlotte, who only picked up a set of weights some four years ago.
For her, the opportunity is there for the taking.
If you have any local sporting heroes who you think should be featured in Sporting Spotlight, contact calvin@thestrayferret.co.uk.
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