Sam becomes powerlifting world champion less than two years after taking up the sport!

Sam was part of the Team GB Under-18 powerlifters that won gold at the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Classic and Equipped Bench Press Championships in Warsaw, Poland.

The first-year Sport and Exercise Science student also won bronze in the Under-66kg individual event, lifting a new personal best of 142.5kg, which equates to more than twice his own weight! 

That performance placed Sam 7.5kg ahead of the fourth-placed finisher and just 2.5kg behind silver-medal winner Saba Gogichaishvili, from Georgia, as Japan’s Itto Tsuneishi claimed gold with a lift of 150kg.

Sam, 17, is also a two-time British champion, having defended his National Bench Press title in Maidstone earlier this year.  

It all represents a meteoric rise for the former Barlby High School pupil who only started powerlifting at the age of 15.

He had previously shown significant potential as an all-round gymnast but had to give up that sport due to a back injury. 

On a whirlwind powerlifting journey that has seen him star on the international stage so swiftly, Sam said: “It feels so good to be a world champion and do what I did in Poland. 

“It’s hard to explain and I didn’t think I’d reach this level so quickly. In the individual event, I didn't actually know I’d finished third until afterwards, because I didn't want to know. 

“I just wanted to focus on the job and I only found out later that I had secured third place on my second lift. I then went on to get the PB with my third lift.

“That’s the most I’ve ever lifted even including training and I still think I’ve got a fair range to go higher than that. The British Bench Press record for my age and weight category is 155kg, so I want to get that by the end of the year.” 

Sam is used to setting records.

He claimed a first in his maiden competition – at Riccall Regen Centre in his home village during August 2024.

That was in the EPA (English Powerlifting Association) Yorkshire & North-East Young Novice Championships, where he comfortably won the Under 59kg weight class.

“I saw the competition record for my weight and thought it was doable and ended up equalling it with a 95kg bench press,” he said. “I didn’t have a coach at that time, but the referee at that competition became my coach.

“He’s from York and he’s called Ben Gibson and I wouldn’t have been able to get where I am now without him. He advises me online and sometimes we train together in person.”

During 2025, Sam went on to finish eighth in last year’s World Championships in Norway and then fifth in the European Bench Press Championships in Malta. 

He is now aiming to compete at the EPA (English Powerlifting Association) All England Sub-Junior and Junior Championships in Lincoln at the end of this month, where his 220kg deadlifting and 190kg squatting ability will also come to the fore.  

That will, hopefully, then lead to selection for another Team GB squad at December’s European Championships in Slovenia.

Sam pointed out, meanwhile, that the first year of his College course has improved his mental approach to competing at such an elite sporting level.

“Psychology is one of the modules on the course and we have learned about how to work with different feelings,” he explained. “That’s helped me with being able to put into place different strategies to regulate anxiety before competitions and how to get past that.

“I went to a different college before I came here, but didn’t really enjoy it. A lot of my friends are here, too, and I’m very happy I made that choice.

“The other thing that appealed to me most about the course was the options it gives you afterwards in terms of workplaces you can go into, because you gain a lot of knowledge about different aspects of sport.”

Sam, who trains for up to two-and-a-half hours four times a week, is supported by the GLL Sport Foundation, as part of their Athlete Support Programme.

This enables him to access free gym memberships and physio sessions, but he would still benefit significantly from a willing sponsor to help him with travel, coaching and equipment expenses.

Anybody who would be interested in offering financial assistance for Sam, should please email tamsynquormby@gmail.com 

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