By Ewen McRae
Less than two years after taking up power lifting, Melton’s Lauren Tyrrell is a national record holder.
The mother of three holds the Australian deadlift record for the 75kg weight division, after lifting 192.5kg earlier this year.
While she was already training at the gym, a family crisis in 2017 saw her narrow her focus.
“About two years ago my daughter had emergency brain surgery, and after that I felt like I needed to do something different to help clear my head,” Ms Tyrrell said.
“Someone suggested I try powerlifting, and that’s how I found my coach, Terence Kuipers, at Mick’s Gym in Melton. So he helped me build up my strength, and somehow I had a bit of a knack for it.
“I can’t thank Terence enough, he knows me better than I know me so if he says I can do something I believe him.
“I was only dead lifting a bit over 100kg early on, but I worked hard on my technique, and now I’m really trying to break the 200kg barrier.”
Ms Tyrrell juggles the demands of her sport with raising three kids, but said she manages the challenges of both fairly well.
“One of my kids has had brain surgery and another had open heart surgery, but going to the gym helps,” she said.
