“Don’t be afraid to push boundaries,” says powerlifter Karenjeet Kaur

By Bitesize BBC | BRITAIN |

Karenjeet Kaur has a first-class degree from the University of Durham and has worked as an accountant for five years.

She’s also Commonwealth Powerlifting Champion in squat, deadlift and overall powerlifting, and the first Sikh woman to compete for Britain at the World Powerlifting Championships.

It all started when she was 17 years old.

Karenjeet’s family have always been very sporty, and she did sprinting as a teenager. An injury from athletics meant she started going to the gym to keep her fitness up, and it was through this, she discovered she enjoyed lifting heavy weights.

“I always used to see my dad and brothers training in the gym and I was curious,” she said.

Her dad, who was a bodybuilder and powerlifter himself, noticed her natural ability and told her to go for it. Three months later Karenjeet was entering her first powerlifting competition.

“When I went to my first competition at 17, I walked in with my two brothers and the referees actually went up to my brothers and said, “are you two looking to compete today?”’ said Karenjeet.

But she didn’t let being a woman in a male dominated sport hold her back.

Being from a Sikh Indian background, Karenjeet said sometimes, culturally, girls and boys don’t have the same kind of opportunities, but her family always championed her as much as they did her brothers.

Karenjeet says: “Don’t be afraid to push boundaries and be the first to do something, because it’s always memorable when you’re the first.

“People will look to your example and think ‘if this person can do it, then I can do it as well’.”

See full story, ‘He expected Arnold Schwarzenegger with a wig on, but it was me’ (Bitesize, BBC), here.

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