Power to Rebecca’s arm as athlete goes for gold
POWER LIFTER WILL BE COMPETING IN COMMONWEALTH GAMES
A PARA-ATHLETE from Yoxall is hoping to win gold this summer. Rebecca Bedford will be competing for powerlifting glory in this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The 24-year-old from Yoxall is ready for the spotlight to fall solely on her as she makes her debut in the games. She had previously spent more than 10 years sharing the limelight with an opponent as she competed in para-badminton.
But with the SS6 category for people with short stature not included in the Tokyo Paralympics, Rebecca, who has achondroplasia – a type of dwarfism – switched to powerlifting. This was described as a far-fromeasy decision to make.
She said: “I think all sports have a really big mental side. Powerlifting also, because there’s a long waiting period between lifts and from getting to the competition venue and waiting to go on stage.
“And you’re the only one on stage, competing at a time, so it’s about controlling those nerves and anxiety. Also fuelling your adrenaline making sure you’re in the best mood possible for a single lift.
“It’s a lot for just a few seconds, but those two seconds is what determine your result, so there’s a huge mental side behind it. Knowing I was on stage ought to be more daunting. However, I know it’s only me who can affect the result and everything’s down to me.
“I don’t have to rely on other people or worry about necessarily what other people are doing. It feels very much more like I’m in control, which almost makes me less anxious about it just being me.”
Rebecca hopes sharing her story will give others motivation to get involved in sport and turn their dreams into reality. She will be cheered on by a home crowd at Birmingham 2022, with plenty of family set to make the short trip from Yoxall.
It will also mark a welcome change from the “soulless” live-streams her family have had to watch for the past couple of years with Covid limiting fan attendance. And while she will have her own personal cheerleaders, plenty will also be celebrating the diversity on show in England’s second city.
Birmingham 2022 will become the first Games to have more women’s events than men’s and more paraevents than ever before – something Rebecca is proud to be a part of. She added: “It’s great to see how women’s sport has really developed over the past few years, but there’s still a long way to go.
“But just from every sport, it’s definitely getting better. And there’s definitely much more visibility on TV or
in newspapers, so it’s definitely improving.
“I think that’s going to have a massive effect to the younger generation seeing this and actually being able to see women doing high-level sports, so they’ve got role models.”
This summer, Team England will comprise of more than 400 athletes, with Rebecca looking to capitalise on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for medal success in her home country.
She could well play a part in inspiring the next generation, as she knows it only takes a couple of attempts at powerlifting to get you hooked. Since switching sports, Rebecca has broken her own British record, putting her in great stead to make her Commonwealth Games bow.
She said: “It was really exciting every time I got a personal best on the bench, just getting stronger and stronger and I could see the physical change in my own body as well. It’s just exciting being able to see that improvement every single time I competed and got on the bench, and it’s got a very nice structured training scheme and competition calendar.
“Once you get on it and start improving, it’s quite addictive, and you just keep going and going.” As for Staffordshire’s most famous athlete, Adam Peaty hopes to return to full fitness in time for the Commonwealth Games. The world-record holding swimmer is still currently recovering from a foot fracture, which has forced him to miss the FINA World Championships which are currently ongoing.
Birmingham 2022 runs from July 28 to August 8.
It was really exciting every time a got a personal best on the bench, just getting stronger and stronger.
Rebecca Bedford