Benenden has a double world record holder in its midst now after some amazing achievements by Fifth pupil Freya Hunter(below).
Freya, age 15, smashed two world records whilst competing in the British Powerlifting Championships during Half Term.
She broke the world records in the Under 15 Deadlift (with 98kg) and the Under 15 Squat (with 70kg). She also won the third category she entered – the Under 15 Bench Press.
What makes the achievement even more impressive is that Freya has only been weightlifting for a year and a half. She trains five times a week – three times at home and twice in the School Gym.
Freya, who has now qualified for the European Championships in Belgium in May and the World Championships in Malta in June, said: “It is something I love so it’s great to compete.”
She has set herself the target of re-breaking her records when it comes to those major competitions, saying: “A lot of other countries have their national championships after ours, so my records could get broken in the next few weeks, so I’d like to break them again if they do.”
In the future Freya is looking to get an Olympic weightlifting coach with the long-term aim of competing in the 2028 Olympics – something it seems she is well on course to do!