"World champion Hannah Howell". Four words that mean so much and reveal just how good Hannah Howell is at powerlifting.

For 27-year-old Hannah is the best in the world at the under-70 kilos single lift deadlift within the World Drug Free Powerlifting Federation.

She won the title in Malta earlier this month and what makes her achievement all the more impressive is that she has been a powerlifter for only four years.

"I won the British title in Weston-super-Mare in February this year and that qualified me for the world championships," explained Hannah, who lives in Cheltenham and trains at Welcome Gym in the town.

As it happened she lifted the same weight at both championships to win her titles - 160 kilos - which is well over twice her own body weight.

For those who don't know, a deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground until the legs are straightened and the back is upright then lowered to the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises, along with the squat and bench press.

Before the British championships Hannah had only competed at regional level - "I'd done okay, nothing to write home about," she said - and she admitted: "I never expected to win the British title. There were some very strong girls taking part, including the British record-holder."

But win she did even though she was disappointed that she didn't break the British record. "I attempted 166 kilos," she said, "but I didn't quite have it although I got close."

Four months later Hannah was at it again although Malta, with the Mediterranean heat, was an altogether different experience. "I was up against some of the best lifters in Europe - from Ireland, Malta, Belgium, Italy and Moldova," she said. "I'd had a good block of four months' training even though I'd had a bit of a knee injury."

In powerlifting - as in many other sports - it is the training that holds the key to success. "That's how you build up your strength," explained Hannah. And Hannah was confident, although certainly not over-confident, ahead of her first world championships.

"I was fairly calm," she said. "I went out five days before with my husband James, my dad [Nick Mansfield] and my sister-in-law [Emma Howell] so we had a bit of a holiday first."

Not that Hannah was over-indulging or anything like that!

She wanted to be ready for the big day... and she certainly was.

"My first lift was 150 kilos," she said. "It was the second biggest first attempt. It wasn't easy - it was harder than normal because of the heat -but after seeing everyone else's first attempt I thought, 'Maybe I've got a chance here'.

"That gave me confidence to lift 160 kilos. It was tough - tougher than it should be - but I lifted it first time and got three white lights which means the referees declare it a good lift."

That was too much for her rivals and even though she failed in her attempt to lift 165 kilos nothing was going to take the gloss off her big day.

So how does it feel to be a world champion?

"It's kind of weird," she laughed. "I feel like I'm in my own bubble about it.

"When I went back to my gym in Cheltenham there was a banner which said, 'Hannah, champion of the world'.

"I just cringed but maybe it is a much bigger achievement than I give myself credit for."

It certainly is and there could be plenty more to come because Hannah plans to compete in the British Full Powerlifting Championships, which include the squat bench press and deadlift, in Weston in July before defending her single lift deadlift title in Florida next year.