4-foot-2 competitive powerlifter sets a high bar

A competitive athlete from Conne River says she's spent a lifetime smashing stereotypes concerning her small stature and powerlifting, her most recent pursuit, is no different.

"Nobody ever expects me to be a powerlifter because I stand at 4-foot-2 and I only weigh about 93 pounds," Susan Hill told CBC Radio's Central Morning Show.

"I always like having that shocked reaction that I get from people."

A former competitive cheerleader, Hill was forced to quit that sport when high impact cheer training began taking a toll on her body.

"I always have to have something for me to be working towards so for me to not be a competitive athlete anymore was really, really hard," she said.

A coworker invited Hill along to a powerlifting training session and she quickly took to the sport.

While competitive, Hill said she finds the powerlifting community to be very encouraging.

"Everyone is moreso competingagainst themselves to be their own personal best," she said.

"They all want to see you get that weight up when you're out on the platform, so I really liked that aspect of the sport."

Hill said powerlifting is made up of a diverse range of athletes.

"You have lifters who are bigger, lifters who are smaller, you have lifters with special needs as well, so they had been used to seeing people overcome all sorts of different challenges to be apart of the sport."

No special treatment

Hill, who now lives in St. John's, said her parents never gave her any special treatment because of her height when she was growing up.

"If I needed something on the top shelf my mom would be like, 'Well, I'm not always going to be here for you, the world's not always going to adjust for you, you have to find a way to adjust to the world find a way to get it on your own.'"

That attitude, Hill said, instilled a strong desire to prove she can do anything an average-sized person can.

I myself am only about 93 [pounds], which is still up from where I started at 83 pounds.- Susan Hill, powerlifting champion

Hill won a gold medal at the recent provincial powerlifting championships, and said she made a last minute decision to enter the upcoming Eastern Canadian Championships in St. John's on Friday.

Hill will compete in a 47-kilogram weight class, the equivalent of about 103 pounds.

"I myself am only about 93, which is still up from where I started at 83 pounds. I'm trying to maintain this weight to get to competition," she said.

"They take the best of three lifts and combine that for a total. I'm hoping for about 460, 470 [pounds] total so, if I can get that between three lifts, I'll be happy with that."

The Eastern Canadian Championships take place Friday and Saturday at the Holiday Inn in St. John's.