Powerlifting: Winchester woman wins eight silver medals

Marina Cornwall from Winchester took part in this year’s World and Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in South Africa.

The fitness enthusiast, who works as a personal trainer, has always been passionate about keeping active, regularly training at Winchester Sport and Leisure Park.

Her dedication paid off at the competition, where she won a total of nine medals.

Despite her impressive haul, Marina is not satisfied with second best, saying: "For me, winning silver is never good enough, it needs to be gold."

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Fitness enthusiast Marina, who works as a personal trainer, has always been passionate about keeping active (Image: Marina Cornwall) She added: "Back when I was a professional bodybuilder, prior to my powerlifting career, I was once placed second in a competition and threw my trophy in the skip.

"My boyfriend at the time (a professional wrestler) was shocked, saying ‘some people don’t achieve a medal in their lifetime’ but I explained that second place just wasn’t good enough for me."

Marina, who trains alongside Freya Jones, Brit and European Javelin Champion, is already looking ahead to her next competitions, the European Powerlifting Championship in Albi, France, and the British Championships in Surrey, both in 2025.

She praises the support she receives from her training partners, stating: "Ahead of my competition, Freya and I trained together for approximately three months.

"She has been phenomenal in supporting me and I was seeing great improvement in my lifts, reaching similar goals to those I had achieved before I took a break when my mother passed, and we were in lockdown."

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Marina also expressed her gratitude to the Winchester Sport and Leisure Park, managed by Everyone Active, for its constant support and motivation.

The leisure centre is keen to encourage more older people to stay active and is running an 'Age is Just a Number' campaign throughout October and November.

The campaign celebrates the fitness achievements of the older members, proving that staying active in later life is beneficial.

Everyone Active’s area contract manager, Alison Lewis, said: "We’d like to share our congratulations to Marina Cornwall for winning an incredible eight silver medals at the recent World Powerlifting Championships.

"It’s such a fantastic achievement and we’re delighted to be a part of her story and a key support for her during her training. Maintaining physical activity and keeping socially active is vitally important for older people in the local community."