Champion weightlifter 'couldn't lift a tin of beans' six months ago

A teenager from Shetland has qualified for the Strongwoman World Championships just months after recovering from a serious arm injury and a chronic pain condition.

Lauri Siegal, who has just turned 17, will compete in Arizona, USA, after placing in the top 10 of her category - despite only taking up the sport late last year.

"Six months before, I wasn't even able to lift a tin of beans," she said.

The young athlete badly broke her arm in January 2025, leaving her unable to take part in any sport.

"As a keen rugby player, that was something I really struggled with," she said.

Her recovery was complicated by a diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), which causes severe and long lasting pain.

"I had a very physically challenging nine months of rehab - it was hard," she said.

At one stage, her physical activity was extremely limited.

"The doctors told me at the most I could lift a can of food".

Before her injury, Lauri had watched strongwoman videos with her mother, Dawn, including clips of famous Scottish strongmen, Tom and Luke Stoltman.

"I remember thinking I would love to do that, but after I broke my arm it felt very far away," she said.

She was cleared to return to exercise in September.

She told BBC Scotland: "Literally a week later I was back playing rugby, I was straight back into tackles and rucks – which I think concerned my parents a bit.

"I couldn't stop thinking about trying weightlifting. I wanted to give it a go".

Lauri began training informally, attempting her first deadlifts that month.

At the end of 2025, the Stoltman brothers were visiting a gym in Shetland - a gym Lauri happened to be a member of.

There, they announced they were opening a gym in Invergordon as well as their plan to host a Strongman and woman competition.

They invited people to come along and participate in January.

Lauri debated whether to go along or not.

"I was really unsure, as I had never done anything like this before and I had only just recovered from my injury," she said.

"I finally decided to bite the bullet and go for it with only three weeks to prepare".

On the day, she was the only female competitor, at just 16 years old.

"I remember saying I hoped I wouldn't be first and then the Stoltman brother told me I was," she said.