If someone had told Annie Nelson a few years ago that she’d be squatting over 200kgs – the equivalent of three washing machines – yet still feel she could lift more, she’d never have believed it.
But having had the year of her career, and having established herself as one of the very strongest women, pound for pound, in the world, Nelson is starting to realise quite what her potential may be.
The Perthshire 27-year-old’s breakthrough moment came earlier this summer, when she won bronze in the squat event at the World Powerlifting Championships with the Scot, who was competing in the -69kgs category, lifting a colossal 205kgs - three times her bodyweight - to claim a spot on the podium.
It was, admits Nelson, quite a feeling considering she’s taken-up the sport in an attempt to improve her mental health and who had, in the early days anyway, few aspirations of becoming one of the best in the world.
“My Worlds medal was huge. To be on the podium with two of the best lifters of all time was so surreal because when I first started this sport, I’d look at them and think I’d never, ever get to that level,” she says.
“At first, I really struggled with imposter syndrome but over the past couple of years, I’ve started really believing that I deserve to be at this level.”
And the fact Nelson departed those World Championships knowing she has yet to reach her peak was, she admits, somewhat surreal.
“I know that at Worlds I could have performed a little better than I did - I know I’ve still not quite put together what I’m capable of but that only makes me work that bit harder and makes me want it even more,” she says.
“I look back at a younger Annie who started powerlifting and if she could see me now, getting a World squat medal and still not be 100 percent happy, she’d be like ‘what the hell’.”
For several years, Nelson has been showing considerable promise in the sport.
Her first British title came in 2022 but it’s in the past twelve months she’s really flourished.
As much as powerlifting is a test of physical strength, Nelson believes that it’s actually her mental state that has the biggest hand in enabling her to lift such monstrous weights.
And for someone who has battled anxiety and depression, she’s never been more grateful to be in such a healthy place mentally.
“Physically, I’ve always trained hard but now, my head is in a much of a better place and that just makes everything so much easier. Feeling like this makes everything feel lighter, quite literally,” she says.
“A lot of things changed in my personal life and now, I’m on my own two feet and it’s been the best feeling and that’s carried over into my performance.
“There’s a fine balance in making sure you’re not tying your entire identity to being a good squatter, though. If you do that and it’s not going great, it can become very difficult to feel okay about yourself so it’s about making sure that I remember I’m someone who does powerlifting but it’s not my entire identity, that there’s a human behind there too.”
The perception of powerlifting, and specifically women powerlifters, is constantly evolving.
Seeing women lift weights is becoming, in some quarters at least, more normalised but Nelson reveals that in many situations, strong, muscular women are just not deemed “acceptable” by some.
Nelson has a significant social media presence and that can attract both positive and negative comments.
She’s at a point in her life, however, that she’s able to laugh off any negativity that may come her way, particularly when she reminds herself that she’s proving to more than a few young girls that lifting weights, and powerlifting as a sport, is a viable career path for both her and them.
“Powerlifting is definitely evolving and that’s great but that feeling that it’s not a sport for females is definitely still present,” she says.
“Especially on social media platforms, the comments can be pretty bad - a lot of men can’t accept that a woman is stronger than them and so they like to comment quite nasty things.
“I had a recent comment where a man said “what use is a strong woman?”. I just laughed at it because of course I’m not doing this for validation from anyone else.
“I’m able to look at it that okay, I might get some horrible comments but if I can inspire even a few young girls to get into this sport and to feel physically strong then it’s all worth it.
Nelson’s competitive action is almost over for the year, but first, she has her sights set on winning the British title at the British Open Championships, which begin today in Wolverhampton.
But already, she has her sights set on 2025 and beyond, with the Scot adamant she won’t relax until she’s established herself as the best there is.
“Saying I’m ambitious is an understatement – I always want to do better,” she says.
“Ultimately, my goal is to win a Worlds title so each year, I want to get closer and closer to being able to do that.
“But it’s important at the end of every year to look back and appreciate how far I’ve come in a short space of time so while I’m very focused, every so often I do let myself have a moment of appreciation about what I’m achieving.”
