By CORIN CATES-CARNEY • APR 29, 2015

Rachelle Meidinger Breaks WABDL World Bench Press Record, And She’s Not Done Yet

A student at Salish Kootenai College is a world record holder in weightlifting. She’s a powerful woman, but for a time felt so weak she didn’t want to leave her room.

Rachelle Meidinger’s sanctuary is a pile of iron. The discs ring as the 20-year-old slides the weights onto the bench-press bar. She lies down and arches her back. Her knuckles turn white as her fingers wrap around the bar and slowly remove it from the rack.

About a month ago Meidinger entered her first weightlifting competition, the 2015 World Association of Benchers and Dead lifters championship in Missoula. Each contestant got four lifts, and the best lift counted as their score.

CLICK HERE for the full article courtesy of Montana Public Radio.