Champion weightlifter 'couldn't lift a tin of beans' six months ago
Lauri Siegal is new to lifting weights but qualified for the World Championship event in her first year of competing.
A teenager from Shetland has qualified for the Strongwoman World Championships just months after recovering from a serious arm injury and a chronic pain condition. Lauri Siegal, who has just turned 17, will compete in Arizona, USA, after placing in the top 10 of her category - despite only taking up the sport late last year. "Six months before, I wasn't even able to lift a tin of beans," she said.
The young athlete badly broke her arm in January 2025, leaving her unable to take part in any sport. "As a keen rugby player, that was something I really struggled with," she said. Her recovery was complicated by a diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), which causes severe and long lasting pain.
"I had a very physically challenging nine months of rehab - it was hard," she said. At one stage, her physical activity was extremely limited. "The doctors told me at the most I could lift a can of food".
Before her injury, Lauri had watched strongwoman videos with her mother, Dawn, including clips of famous Scottish strongmen, Tom and Luke Stoltman. "I remember thinking I would love to do that, but after I broke my arm it felt very far away," she said. She was cleared to return to exercise in September.