‘I'M 67 AND STRONGER THAN EVER!'

Nurse Julie has muscled her way into the powerlifting record books

- Brigid Auchettl

A year ago Cairns nurse Julie Brooker was more likely to be found lifting patients in the hospital instead of weights in the gym.

Now, 12 months on, Julie has a passion for powerlifting. Her new found hobby has seen the 67-year-old claim the record for deadlifting dumbbells at the Masters Championships & Deep North Open event after she made a successful 97kg deadlift – beating the previous record by seven kilograms.

“When I completed the lift, I was ecstatic,” says Julie, who discovered powerlifting in 2019 after she went to some CrossFit sessions with her son. “It felt surreal. I thought, ‘Did I really do that!?’ I just felt so empowered.”