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A BRADFORD woman is preparing to represent her country on the world stage after smashing two British records and qualifying for major international competitions.
Alana Walker, of Allerton, was inspired to pursue disabled strongman after attending the Arnold Fitness Festival with coach Alicia Curtis.
She said: "Me and my coach Alicia went to the Arnold fitness festival, and they had a disabled strongman competition there and we both thought it was fantastic.”
That inspiration has since developed into a remarkable sporting journey, with Ms Walker now among the country's leading adaptive strength athletes.
Alana Walker in the gym
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Record-breaking success in Bury St Edmunds
Ms Walker recently competed at the GB Disabled Strongman World Record Day at Iron Island in Bury St Edmunds, where she broke two national records.
She set a new seated deadlift record of 201.4kg and a sandbag-to-shoulder record of 51.5kg.
Ms Walker said: "They meant a lot to achieve them as it meant all the hard work that myself, Alicia and (her sports therapist) Kynan (Pike) [had] put in to get myself into this shape had paid off."
Despite her success, Ms Walker’s immediate reaction was to aim even higher.
She added: "I was over the moon to achieve those records, and my initial thought was I want to try to break them again."
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Overcoming major obstacles
Behind the record-breaking performances lies a story of determination and resilience.
Living with cerebral palsy, Ms Walker has faced significant physical challenges throughout her strongman journey.
Coach Alicia initially focused on rehabilitation work to strengthen and stabilise her left side so she could cope with the demands of strongman events.
After making rapid progress, Ms Walker faced another major setback when she underwent back and stomach surgery in September 2024 to have a baclofen pump fitted.
While the procedure helped stabilise her condition, it also meant rebuilding her strength almost from scratch.
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A team built on friendship
Ms Walker credits much of her success to the support of Bradford-based coach Alicia and sports therapist Kynan.
She said: "They have played a crucial part in achieving my goals. Without them my journey would be a lot harder."
Ms Walker added: "As a disabled person I have to do rehabilitation for the rest of my life to make sure I maintain function for as long as possible but to find a sports therapist and a coach that have become great friends makes the journey more fun and less of a [chore] and it makes me want to look after my condition more."
Chasing more records in Phoenix
The hard work is now focused on the upcoming World Championships in Phoenix, an event Ms Walker admits she is eagerly anticipating.
At the championships, Ms Walker will compete in the seated deadlift and monster dumbbell events, both contested for maximum weight.
She said: "I'd love to try to break some world records in the competition,”