Wrexham Glyndwr lecturer qualifies for British Powerlifting championships

A university lecturer has successfully qualifyed to compete in this year’s British Powerlifting championships.

Dr Chelsea Batty, Senior Lecturer in Applied Sport, Health and Exercise Physiology at Wrexham Glyndwr, competed in the APBU/BPU British Powerlifting Qualifiers held in Nottingham – her first competition in more than seven years.

In the lead-up to the event, Chelsea was contemplating pulling out after suffering from a bout of flu but thankfully made a swift recovery ahead of the competition.

Speaking after qualifying, Chelsea said: “I feel so proud of myself – especially after being bedridden for a good number of weeks before the competition, I was close to cancelling as I didn’t think I’d be up to it but thankfully started to feel better and after a few sessions in the gym, I felt confident I would do well and I’m so glad I did.

“Taking part in the British Championships will be an amazing experience – those who are successful then go onto qualifying for Europe and then worldwide, I personally don’t think I’m at that level – but it’s the experience of competing nationally alone that I’m excited about.”

Ahead of the British championships taking place in July, Chelsea is now looking ahead to the coming months and her strict training regime.

“Currently I train five days a week for two to three hours at a time, which is intense and it will certainly heighten as the competition gets closer but I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself,” she said.

“Ultimately it’s about the experience for me – and to have qualified is a huge achievement in itself, I’m absolutely thrilled.”

Dr Sarah Dubberley, Principal Lead within the department at WGU, added: “A huge congratulations to Chelsea for her incredible achievement in qualifying for this year’s British Powerlifting championships.

“All of us at the university, both staff and students, are hugely proud of her and will be eagerly cheering her on in July.”