04:5472 y/o grandmother and 19-time bench press champion has no plans to retire
Chiyomi Sawa, a 72-year-old housewife in Hachioji City, is a "senior women's star" who started bench pressing at the age of 50 and is now a 19-time world champion and continues training for her 20th world title, as seen on Friday.
The grandmother of three and world champion powerlifter started training to lose weight and became a world-renowned athlete.
"I was told that I was overweight at work, so I went to a nearby gym and decided to work out there to lose weight. That's how it all started," she recalled.
Since she began competing at the highest level in 2006, Sawa has dominated the world championships, winning first place in each edition, in different weight categories.
Incredibly, this world champion only trains once a week. "I only practice once a week. You know, some people practice every day, some three times a week, but for me, I only practice once a week. I hate to practice."
Nowadays, the world champion can lift to 127 kilos, but when she started at the age of 49, she was already astounding her coaches by lifting 50 kilos.
"One reason is the sense of accomplishment I get when I lift. Also, every year, after the All-Japan Championships, I can go to the World Championships. By repeating this, well, this is how I've been doing this for twenty years," she said.
04:54Chiyomi Sawa, a 72-year-old housewife in Hachioji City, is a "senior women's star" who started bench pressing at the age of 50 and is now a 19-time world champion and continues training for her 20th world title, as seen on Friday.
The grandmother of three and world champion powerlifter started training to lose weight and became a world-renowned athlete.
"I was told that I was overweight at work, so I went to a nearby gym and decided to work out there to lose weight. That's how it all started," she recalled.
Since she began competing at the highest level in 2006, Sawa has dominated the world championships, winning first place in each edition, in different weight categories.
Incredibly, this world champion only trains once a week. "I only practice once a week. You know, some people practice every day, some three times a week, but for me, I only practice once a week. I hate to practice."
Nowadays, the world champion can lift to 127 kilos, but when she started at the age of 49, she was already astounding her coaches by lifting 50 kilos.
"One reason is the sense of accomplishment I get when I lift. Also, every year, after the All-Japan Championships, I can go to the World Championships. By repeating this, well, this is how I've been doing this for twenty years," she said.