As is so often the case it started with almost a throwaway line.

Now four years later Hannah Howell is British and world champion at the under-70 kilos single lift deadlift and her career is going from strength to strength.

“This is my fourth year of powerlifting,” said 27-year-old Hannah who lives in Cheltenham.

“I did a lot of gym stuff, I suppose I was a bit of a gym monkey from the age of 20. My then boyfriend and now my husband James was very fit and I tried to keep up with him.

“A personal trainer at the gym I go to, Gary Payne, approached me and asked me if I’d like to do some powerlifting. He said I might enjoy it and I might enjoy the competition.”

And he was certainly right.

While husband James was more into his fitness, Hannah became more and more involved with the world of powerlifting which is a form of competitive weightlifting in which contestants attempt three types of lift – the squat, bench press and deadlift.

“I just gave it a go,” said Hannah, who trains at Welcome Gym in Cheltenham. “I didn’t set any goals but it transformed my approach to fitness. Going to the gym was not a chore, it wasn’t a hassle.”

And she was very good at powerlifting too, which always helps. She competed at regional level in 2015 and 2016 and after taking 2017 off – although she continued to train – this year she has far exceeded her own expectations by winning the British and world titles.

“I like the technical side of powerlifting, it’s a really focussed discipline,” she said.

And it would appear there is plenty more to come because Hannah is determined to defend her world title in Florida next year.

It’s busy, busy for Hannah because when she spoke to The Local Answer she was just about to start work as a personal trainer and she was also studying to practise as a nutritionist.

She hopes to complete those studies in October which will cap a pretty remarkable year and one that will be hard to better in 2018. But if anyone can, surely Hannah Howell, world champion, can.