WESTBURY powerlifter Matt Doughty has achieved his goal of winning the World Powerlifting Championships, 18 years after winning the Taekwondo World Championships.
Matt said, “The last two years I have entered and won the English, British and European Championships and the Worlds was my ultimate goal and the title I dreamed of gaining.
“This year’s World Championships was held in Aldershot which was a bit closer than last year’s event in Minnesota, America. I entered my class which is the raw 125kg Masters and was up against it from the start, having lost one and half stone from my weekly Southwick Parkrun addiction and as a result, losing a fair bit of raw power; but luckily for me this was the case for others who were trying to make weight.
“I was lifting in the full power (squat/bench/deadlift) but also the single bench 125kg masters raw class and as the competition went on, I was just doing enough and in doing so, won my class.
“Winning another world title in two separate sports is something I am really proud of and I’m already thinking about the next 18 years and a possible third in a different sport. Moving forward, I will still be competing in powerlifting but I’ll be just focusing on the bench press and hopefully still represent GB at next year’s European Championships.
“My ambition for many years has been to do an Ironman triathlon but powerlifting and being 20+ stone while trying to do swim, cycle and run over long distances just don’t go together, but I am up for the challenge!
“Thinking ahead, five months ago I booked a place in next year’s Ironman 70.3 held in Staffordshire so my training will be focused on endurance. During this year I have already been doing lots of open water swimming, cycling and running to prepare my body for the switch, so it will be a case of building enough endurance to get round.
“I have been competing in one sport or another from my early teens and a mix of training hard, passion and drive to aim high has given me many opportunities. I have competed in Britain’s Strongest Man, played rugby for Wiltshire and Dorset and had trials for England rugby along side Phil Vickery. I’ve also represented Great Britain in Taekwondo, run the London marathon and my favourite Southwick Parkrun – I will hopefully achieve my 50th Parkrun on Christmas Eve.
“My message to everyone is regardless of age, if you have an ambition or a dream, work hard and follow it with passion and even if you don’t succeed your ultimate goal, you will still be a winner by trying in the first place.”
