STRONGWOMAN

Worlds Strongest Woman 2021

Well......I finally put 2019 to rest...I came back to Daytona for my podium spot...and I got it!


3rd in the World!!

New paragraph

Guinness World Record Plane Pull

Now...imagine for a minute.........


Its a cold, dark, depressing January afternoon......the excitement of Christmas has come and gone, gyms are still closed........and the phone rings.....well Sues phone, as I never answer mine, I think everyone has given up ringing me.......


"Hello this is Guinness World Records, Would you and your wife like to set a record by puling an aeroplane?" 


So....before I know it Sues upstairs telling me we're pulling an aeroplane, in about a months time....sheer panic sets in and stays until the day we do it. People were asking "how do you train to pull a plane?", "how's training going?"........errrrrrr, well we don't know how you train to pull a plane, and training isn't going, as gyms are closed!


Coupled with the size and weight of the plane changing week by week, frantic phone calls between ourselves and Guinness over harnesses, ropes, being tied to a plane, can our coach come?, can Ollie be there? - What size plane are we actually pulling?


In all honesty I gave up, there wasn't much we could do apart from eat, sleep and rest and hope for the bloody best, we dont have a 737 in the street to practice, so until you actually try to pull a plane you have no bloody idea if you can actually pull a plane.


So off we go to a sunny airstrip at St Athan, just outside Cardiff. The weather couldn't have been better. The usual being pulled in all directions by S4C for filming and interviews - getting old hands at being on TV now to be honest (that is a lie, it never gets easier) and what more can I say?....


......other than there is no one on this earth I trust more, to jointly pull an aeroplane with, than my wife.........so, did we do it?


........Of course we did!!.....We are officially Guinness World Record Holders, for pulling and Airbus A320, over 20 meters, in a time of 37.6 seconds......we were also the first Welsh Women to pull an aeroplane and the first married couple



Stay tuned for the next time Sue answers her phone and signs us up to something crazy!!


Official footage of the day can be seen on S4C on March 31st 2021

Wales Strongest Woman 2021

Well 2021 didn't look very positive at the start of the year, with 5 months lockdown and gyms closed again. as most of Wales waited eagerly for the Weekly updates to find out when we would be getting our gyms back the sense of disappointment felt throughout the sport as they remined closed and what felt like forgotten about.


So the original date of May got moved ack to July 18th, a bittersweet sense of relief, that we would have time to train for the comp, but staying in prep for longer and with the risk that we could go into lockdown again.


I'll be honest I didn't enjoy the build up to this comp, disappointing fractions between the competitors yet again, and with whispers that certain individuals were saying the comp was set up for me to win, due to the promoter being my coach, alongside with once you become a little bit successful you develop a target on your back that others are aiming for. So prep for this comp with my coach was 70% mental, dealing with everything going on and 30% physical - My thought process changing by the hour from smashing it, to pulling out completely, to throwing the comp on purpose to not win so there could be no chatter that it had been fixed.


But the day came and in the week leading up to the comp I found my think skin and decided I was going to win.


First event Deadlift...I struggled with my deadlift coming out of lockdown, purely a mental block and managed to pull a 227.5 PB; however I let go of the bar at the top of the lift, which meant a no rep, I had a little time to try and redeem myself and yes I did pull my PB once again, this time I didn't let go; however I was out of time, so a respectable 3rd place on the deadlift event.


Next event Axel medley, axle had been going well in training and I was confident of a good placing here, confident I  could lift all bars in a quick time and the last bar for the Welsh record, but alas no....as I dropped the second bar and went to jump over it, it bounced back up, caught me on the right shin and I fell over spectacularly over the bar, I quickly got back up and carried on, I didn't know if I was bruised, bleeding, broken, searing pain down my shin, I lifted the third bar, got to the last bar the Welsh record, got it to my belt but my confidence shattered I didn't even attempt it - all things considered I still came 2nd in the event - Who knew 2nd could be so disappointing.


Next event was Yoke carry and sandbags - Still in pain with y shin and hands and a swelling that mirrored a cartoon bump on my leg I attempted the heavy yoke, now I'm usually pretty good with the yoke, one of my best events, but every time I picked up the yoke a searing pain down my shin out me off, then with several lines on the floor a dropped the yoke at the wrong line, and ran off for the sandbag- having to come back to rectify my mistake.


Next up farmers/frame/farmers carry - again every time I picked up the implement  the searing pain, I managed the first farmers and frame, but just couldn't generate the power to pick up the last farmers, dropping it on my foot at one stage - disappointed, disillusioned, the comp slipping away I was in 4th Place over all


Next was atlas stones Now I love an atlas stone, a lot of hype around this event due to the world record attempt that happening - so much for the event being changed to suit me eh?.....I'll just drop that in!!....... A friend and physio suggested I strap my shin tight with vet wrap as tight as possible, which although agony helped...I managed a respectable 125kg Stone and I was done, I knew that would put me in 2nd place overall....which I was happy to take


Now in years gone by I would be absolutely thrilled with 2nd place, this time I've barely mentioned in, I made mistakes...too many mistakes...but we live and learn. 


The comp itself was fantastic and credit to Rhi and Luke for taking the comp in the first place, as Wales proved once again it isn't an easy country to work with, yet they pulled it off, its certainly the best Welsh comp I've competed in to date and can only get bigger and better......lets get he new blood into the Welsh Sport and show the UK what we're capable of.


Happy with my qualification for Britain's Strongest Woman, again in the opens category..

Britains Strongest Woman 2020

Well, what a ballache 2020 turned out to be in terms of competitions and competing due to Coronavirus. We spent much of the year frantically waiting for updates on moving dates, rearranging hotels rooms and awaiting refunds. With gyms closed due to lockdown, I'm sure many of us debated whether that was our Strongwoman career over before it had started.


However a brief break in the lockdown restrictions meant Britain's Strongest Master could go ahead, thanks to Ant Brown and 100% C.A, socially distanced and held at Rhinos Gym in Tamworth.


Socially Distanced you say?, yes, I did, and here in lies the story...remember my wife Sue Taylor-Franklin who announced her retirement after Wales Strongest to concentrate on her World Deadlift Record? (Which also got cancelled) Well, the only way she could be at a "no spectator" event - was to enter!.


So off we trekked to Tamworth...Sue having "not trained for it"...or so she will tell you!! We meet a friendly bunch of ladies who had braved the Covid threat to do what we love, and our coach Rhianon Lovelace on speed dial.


First event was deadlift and a lucky draw for me meant I went last, so I had the advantage of knowing how many reps I needed to do to win, much to Sue's annoyance...its been a topic of hot debate ever since, as we all know, had the draw fallen the other way she would've won it, and comps can be one on one event, so I could've been writing this as Britain's 2nd strongest Master rather than 1st.


2nd Event Log Press a favourite of mine...as I recall I'd won the event on my first press, but used all three attempts I had, just to secure it. Ant kindly asking me if I wanted a fourth for a PB, but having won the event and not wanting to risk injury I tried but failed, mentally my mind not in at.


Next Sandbags...which are just awful things...I think I won the event getting all but the last one over.


Then frame carry, now I can honesty say I hadn't trained this, again its not a favourite of mine...and it showed, Sue winning the event, and yes....beating me!


Last event stones.....who doesn't love stones in a Strongwoman event, its long been a staple of Strongman and in my opinion a true Strongman/Women test, is it even a competition if there isn't a stone run?.....I did all stones, no idea of the time. Note to self never wear your new stone sleeves for the first time in a competition, so my time slowed down with me taking my sleeves off mid run, that said all stones went up in the time.


So as the results were announced Sue and myself finally got our podium, first and second in a national competition. Neither of us could quite believe it and the journey home consisted of us frequently looking at each other asking "did we just do that"...I even phoned Rhianon on the way home, and anyone who knows me , know I don't use my phone for that!!

Worlds Strongest Woman 2019 

Probably my biggest achievement to date is qualifying for and taking part in the Official Strongman Games Worlds Strongest Woman in Daytona Beach Florida in 2019. I qualified for this by coming 2nd in Europe in August 2019. 

The training was hard and brutal, this was after all my biggest competition to date. as the date to compete got closer the desire to win got bigger and I went from being grateful to be competing to believing I could seriously hold my own against other more experienced athletes. 

Its always hard as a relative newcomer to the sport to walk into an arena of more experienced athletes, but that's the thing with strongwoman its such a friendly supportive atmosphere, that those doubts soon fade. Every single person knows what it  takes to compete and there an undeniable respect for each other.

The first day went well, the Viking press went ok considering I had never trained on a Viking press, and I was overjoyed with my farmers walk, its not my favourite event, but I was over the moon to complete the course and not drop the weight. 

Day 2 was just out of this world, I had never lifted over a 185kg deadlift in competition or training, the final lift of the deadlift ladder worked out at 206kg, 200kg felt like my nemesis, but I made a promise to myself and my then coach that I would lift it if it killed me. and I lifted it! next event load and drag, never a fan of running with weight, but got it done - Absolute joy to finish day two in third place overall. 

Day 3 Probably the hardest day of all. I have never competed over three days in competitor sport, and being able to keep the desire, drive, ambition and adrenaline there for three heavy, tiring days is a skill. The points on day three get recalculated and those who didn't make the top three drop out...and then it was my worst two events, I had been training axle well in the gym, however this implement had fixed wheels, which changes the lift, I'll be honest I struggled, I wasn't happy with my performance at all, then final event Powerstairs. As  much as we had tried to emulate the powerstairs in the gym, nothing feels like powerstairs than powerstairs!.

I dropped out of the placings into fifth place, I knew I had, but while i stood waiting for the results I suppose a part of me h oped I hadn't, but I had. Then started the mental battle, I came to win, as the comp went on I would even have settled for a podium place, but I was (in my mind) nowhere!...nobody remembers fifth place. Its harsh and it hurts, but that's sports, the strength comes in being able to rebuild and come back stronger.    

Wales Strongest Woman 2020

Wales Strongest Woman 202 was probably my harshest lesson. Gratful that this year we were taken out of a muddy windy field by Big Dogs Strongamn Division and got to Compete in the Llangollen Pavillion.

The events werent great for me, there were some that were difficult to train for without the equipment and if I'm honest the events didn't grab me from the outset. 

Looking back at the time of Wales comp it was a time of transition in a lot of things for me in terms of my competing. If i'm brutally honest with myself I probably cruised on the fact I had  been to Worlds, and thats where I came unstuck. 

The comp was great, the atmosphere was fantastic, Big Dogs really made an effort, we had a live feed so family and friends could watch, and all the girls in Team Wales are so supportive of each other, all round it was a good day.

Except my  wife was also competing we were against each other and without wanting to sound big headed we were confident we would both podium (a first for a married couple) However problems with the scoring saw me miss out on the podium as the scores had been calculated wrong. 

At time I was angry and bitter over this - as time has gone on its jut made me more determined - Once the scoring was rectified I officially came 2nd. 


Europe's strongest Woman 2019

Europe's Strongest Woman saw us trek to Rotherham, it was held in Rotherham United's old stadium. Its always good to be able to see the venue before you get there to compete (well for me anyway). So the day before we headed over for a look at the arena. This got the adrenaline pumping as it was bigger than anywhere I had Competed previously. 

The day went well, nerves an all other things considered i can say i was happy with my performance. Looking back there was part of me that may have settled for second place rather than fighting for first, but that a lesson you learn as you progress in any sport or competition. 

I placed 2nd in the Masters category, qualified for Worlds Strongest Woman - and Eddie Hall presented me with my trophy  
 Competitions and Results


Wales Strongest Woman 2021 (Open Category) - 2nd Place
Britain's Strongest Woman (Masters) 2020  1st Place
Wales Strongest Woman 2020 -2nd Place
Britain's Strongest Woman 2019  (Open Category) 8th Place 
Wales Strongest Woman 2019 (Open Category)- 2nd Place 
Superhuman Games 2019 - 1st Place 
Dubai Muscle Show 2018 - 3rd Place