BRITISH ASIAN powerlifter Aneela Rose has won a world championship silver medal for Team GB, five months after failing all three of her squat attempts at a qualifier and considering whether to quit the sport.
The mother of two and businesswoman, now in her 50s, recorded a total of 247.5 kilograms in the M4 under-56kg class at the AWPC World Powerlifting Championships in Manchester earlier this month.
Her result came eight years after she won World Championship gold in her age and weight class at the 2018 AWPC World Championships.
Rose’s season appeared to be over in April when she failed all three squat attempts at a qualifier in Nottingham. She was eliminated before reaching the bench press or deadlift.
“Nottingham was horrible. I left in tears, and I seriously questioned whether I wanted to carry on,” Rose said.
AWPC Worlds 90kg squatAneela Rose
But just 13 days later, she returned to competition at another qualifier in Eastbourne. Needing 232kg to qualify for the British Championships, she lifted 242kg.
She went on to win silver at the ABPU British Championships in July, securing her place on Team GB before completing her return to the world podium in Manchester.
“For me, strength is what you do after things go wrong and sometimes it’s simply about going back and trying again,” she said.
Rose began strength training in 2013 and entered her first powerlifting competition in 2016. Two years later, she won world gold in her age and weight class.
AWPC World silverAneela Rose
Now in her 50s and going through menopause, she says she is stronger and lifting heavier than when she began training more than a decade ago.
“We’re constantly told what gets worse as women get older,” she said. “But for me, my physical strength has got better, my appetite for trying things has got bigger, and my need for other people’s approval has got smaller.”
Rose also sees her participation as a way of challenging ideas about what a powerlifter is expected to look like.
“I’m five-foot-two, have a petite frame, menopausal, a mum and a British woman with South Asian heritage,” she said.
“People make very quick assumptions about what strength looks like. I quite enjoy being the person who messes with that picture.”
Desert deadliftAneela Rose
Away from powerlifting, Rose runs Rose Media Group, the public relations agency she founded in 2004.
Earlier this year, she travelled to Svalbard in the High Arctic, where she deadlifted outdoors at -23°C during the polar night. In August, she deadlifted on sand in the Dubai desert in temperatures of 45°C.
For Rose, the latest medal is not about trying to recreate the athlete she was eight years ago.
“I’m not trying to be the athlete I was eight years ago. I want to find out what this version of me can do,” she said. “I’m not done yet!”
