Rebecca Bedford gearing up for World Championships in Dubai

By Oli Dickson Jefford, Sportsbeat

Yoxall powerlifter Rebecca Bedford hopes last summer’s Commonwealth Games experience works to her advantage as she gears up for a tilt at the upcoming Powerlifting World Championships.

Bedford, who was previously a three-time para badminton world champion before switching sports, is targeting a top eight finish in Dubai as she looks to qualify for Paris 2024.

And the 25-year-old is looking to build on the big-stage knowhow she gained in Birmingham a year ago, when she finished sixth in the women’s heavyweight competition representing Team England on home soil.

“It will be a massive competition with lots of competitors, so that will be really exciting and interesting to see what everyone brings to the table,” said Bedford, one of 50 athletes supported by a partnership between SportsAid and Pitching In, a multimillion-pound grassroots sport programme established by Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral.

“It has been a year since I competed at the Commonwealth Games. I’ve been looking back at some of those memories and I think that’s the biggest stage I ever competed on.

“I’d imagine this World Championships will be fairly similar in terms of the amount of people there. I really enjoy being able to show as many people as possible what I can do on that stage.

“I’m sure it will help me in terms of being able to manage nerves, being able to pump myself up ready for the big lifts.

“It was just a fantastic experience and I loved every second of it, so I’m hoping I can take that enjoyment as well as the competitiveness and hunger onto the platform, and that helps drive me in my lifts.”

Bedford will be part of a 13-strong British squad heading out to the Middle East for the eight-day event from 22-30 August, which looks set to be one of the biggest Powerlifting World Championships ever.

She added: “This has got to be one of the biggest teams we’ve had going to an international competition.

“It just shows how fantastic British Weightlifting and Powerlifting has been in the grassroots, getting these athletes and training them to help create this huge squad.

“It’s a credit to them that we have such a massive team of excellent competitors. Training with them has been fantastic, as we are just one big team and we’re all after the same thing, but we also all support each other.

“It’ll be really great, having that strong squad out there in Dubai and having each other’s back.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more