Sask. powerlifter takes gold medal at Commonwealth Championships

From being told she wouldn't ever lift more than five pounds to winning gold medals at national powerlifting competitions, Tammie-Lee Ballinger's story keeps on getting better.

Now, she's bringing home a gold medal from the Commonwealth Championships, which began last Sunday and wrapped up on Saturday in St. John's, N.L.

The championship is an international competition featuring some of the best lifters from around the world. Competing at the event was a goal for both Ballinger and her husband and trainer, Bowe Ballinger.

It wasn't an easy road for Tammie-Lee Ballinger, though; in 2006, she underwent major surgery on her shoulder.

"They had written me off to compensation and told me that I would never be able to lift above five pounds again," she told CBC News earlier this year.

She rebounded from that, but the long flight between Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador to compete in this week's championship aggravated a knee injury she sustained before the event.

"I thought [the injury] was gone, but the plane ride decided it was back," she said. "It's a bit of a setback, but you just push through. You just do what you can do."

Despite her bum knee, Ballinger took home the gold medal in the women's raw master benchpress category, lifting a weight of 107.5 kilograms (roughly 237 pounds) to earn top honours.

Tammie-Lee said the 107.5-kilogram lift is lower than her own personal best, and Bowe said the pair wanted to go for a 112.5 kilogram (roughly 248 pound) lift. But she struggled with a lift at 102.5 kilograms, and they didn't want to push it.

The 107.5 lift though, according to Bowe, wasn't a challenge in the end.

"She threw it up like it was nothing," he said. "When it looked like it was doom and gloom, she had more power."

Tammi-Lee Ballinger is now aiming to compete at the Masters Worlds event in April 2020.

"We'll see how everything heals and everything, but I'll probably be OK by then," she said.