Addenbrooke’s Hospital nurse Siobhan Taylor successfully defends title at International Powerlifting Federation World Championships in Norway

Haverhill’s Siobhan Taylor has been celebrating proving that her success at last year’s International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Championships was ‘no fluke’.

Twelve months ago the Addenbrooke’s intensive care unit nurse scooped the top prize with a 185kg bench press in the 84kg Masters 1 category in Texas, USA, setting a new British and Commonwealth record at the same time.

And she repeated that success last month in Drammen, Norway, by defending the title with her first lift.

Taylor, who was raised in Balsham, said: “In some ways it still hasn’t sunk in.

“Even though I won last year I still had some self doubt. I wasn’t sure if I could do it again and you’re never sure how good your opponents are going to be.

“But it was no fluke – I earned it. I earned my place on the podium and I’ve shown that I’m good at what I do.

“The first time will always be very special but there’s something that makes me very proud about defending the title.

“I’m so competitive with myself and I actually wasn’t completely happy with my performance, but the most important thing was the win and the points I earned for the British team.”

And now Taylor has her sights set on the hat-trick.

Next year’s World Championships are due to be held in Poland and Taylor is hoping to make it three victories in a row.

She added: “I feel like I have to (go for a third victory).

“I’ve learned a lot from the last couple of times in terms of preparation. Last year it was super intense and this year has maybe been a bit too relaxed, so I need to find a pitch somewhere in the middle of that.

“I’ll probably still have a little bit of self doubt – that’s only natural – but I’ll also have plenty of confidence from the last two years.”