Kimcote mum Annjanette Wells will take on the continent's strongest women when she competes in powerlifting's European Championships.
A 44-year-old manager for the British Psychological Society, Wells entered her first powerlifting competition earlier this month, but she is now preparing to face Europe's best, in Eastbourne, next June.
It has been a rapid rise to success for Wells.
Wells joined a gym in March last year in order to lose weight and improve her fitness.
Having achieved her target measurements by September, Wells, with her trainer Aaron Pyatt, turned to developing her sporting performance, and, following a chance encounter with a fellow gym-goer, decided to move into powerlifting.
Wells said: "I was training with my coach one day, going for a new personal best in the dead lift, and this lady was staring at me.
"I thought I was making a funny expression or something.
"After I left, my coach, Aaron, started talking to her. It turned out she was a powerlifter who had competed on the European and British tour and she was astounded by my lifts."
Wells made her competitive powerlifting debut in Manchester on October 4, at the Global Powerlifting Committee Great Britain (GPC-GB) Nodumbelles Women's Open.
She said: "I was hoping to do well. I was doing good enough lifts in the gym, but doing it in front of 200 people, other powerlifters, and in a competitive environment adds a lot more pressure."
Recording a 92.5kg squat lift, a 50kg bench press and a 130kg dead lift, for a total lift weight of 272.5kg, Wells was triumphant in the 56kg weight category.
The victory secured qualification for the European Championships, plus the British Open, next August.
Wells said: "I've got a lot of work to do, but I think I could do well. At the moment, in the dead lift for example, I am lifting 130 kilos, but I'm hoping to lift 140 to 150 by next year."
Wells will be training six times a week, including four times with her coach, Pyatt, who she described as "instrumental" to her success so far.
Good performances at the European and British events could result in what Wells called the "ultimate aim", an invitation to the World Championships in Las Vegas a year from now.
