Irish woman to lift on world stage

A Limerick woman who took up Olympic weightlifting a year and a half ago is now preparing to represent Ireland in her second World Weightlifting Masters Championship.

The competition, which begins in Athens, Greece, tomorrow, brings together weightlifters aged 35 and over from around the world, competing in a variety of age and weight categories - all the way up to 90 plus years of age.

Twenty-two Irish athletes will take part, including Gillian Hession from Limerick, who will compete in the W45, 61kg category for women aged between 45 and 49.

Gillian, who previously competed in tennis and CrossFit, began training with Cork Weightlifting Club 19 months ago.

"When I first started, I was quite raw. So, it's been a very humbling experience over the last year, kind of unlearning motor patterns. I mean, I had a training bar some days last year.

"It’s a privilege to be able to work on your weaknesses.

"Similarly with Athens coming up, all I can do is control what I can control - my training, my nutrition, and sleep - all while juggling my work and family life.

"But I know that on the day, I’ll just put as much effort as I can, leave everything I can on the platform - and just go for it really," Gillian added.

Since she began training with Cork Weightlifting club, Gillian has already competed at two European Masters Championships and the 2025 World Masters in Las Vegas.

In that time, Gillian’s trainer Ian Byrne believes the Limerick native has become an inspiration to younger athletes entering the sport.

"When Gill first started training here, her technique was quite raw, so she came from a CrossFit background, and she basically needed a lot of technique work to improve that.

"Now she’s heading to her second Worlds and is doing incredibly. She is just such a diligent athlete and we’re extremely proud of her," her trainer added.

"And Gill, being one of the more senior athletes in the club, acts as a role model to all of those younger athletes. They can see such a strong and powerful woman that is caring less about being skinny and more about being strong, how she performs as an athlete.

"And we try and encourage all our younger athletes to not care about what weight they are, but how strong they are and how well they can move."

Hoping to inspire others to enter the sport, Gillian also hopes to dispel the perception that Olympic lifting is "a male-dominated sport", which she believes "couldn’t be further from the truth".

"It’s about a 50-50 ratio," she said.

"But even so, statistics show that younger girls tend to drop off sports when they hit secondary school, and that’s disappointing because it does instill so much confidence and power to you - especially as you get older, when you really start thinking about your future self, and your longevity.

"And I think especially as well at the moment, the trend is moving back towards skinny. And I think, really, you need to start thinking about your body as something you can use, that’s capable, that’s empowering - because it is."

Gillian added that aside from the physical and mental benefits to weightlifting, the sport also boasts a close knit and supportive community.

"I’m exceptionally lucky in the fact that I found Cork Weightlifting Club. They are just so supportive.

"Whether you’re lifting 25kg or 85kg or 105kg, it’s all about the effort and really showing up every day and just respecting your other lifters.

"I’ve made lifelong friends, and honestly, there’s no feeling like actually feeling strong and feeling powerful.

"So I would recommend anyone to give it a go. It’s such a fantastic sport."

The World Masters Weightlifting Championships runs from 17 to 26 September.

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