A NOVICE powerlifter has bagged himself the chance to represent Britain on the world stage after winning a national competition.

The self-titled Beast of Bishop Auckland (BOBA), Mitch Wright, will be jetting off to the United States later this year to battle it out with some of the best sportsmen from across the globe.

The 27-year-old qualified for the World Powerlifting Championships while taking part in his first bench press contest at the British Powerlifting Union (BPU) Championships, held at the BodyPower UK Expo, in Birmingham, this month.

He said: “I still feel like any lad who goes to the gym to train but it feels surreal to represent the country on the world stage.

“I’ve gone from not competing to competing at the elite level.

"I’ve gone straight in at the highest level and it feels pretty amazing.”

In the super heavyweight bench press category, the dad-of-one secured the winning title with his opening lift of 250kg while his second lift of 262kg earned him second place in the current British raw all-time bench press record.

Mr Wright, of Bishop Auckland, began training in the gym at the age of 19 in a bid to become “bigger and stronger” and focused initially on bodybuilding.

He had been inspired by his father, who had been a bodybuilder himself but passed away when Mr Wright was just four years old.

“A couple of years passed and my strength kind of superseded everything,” added the sheet metal worker.

“I was being told by the lads in the gym to get into strongman and powerlifting.”

One year ago the fitness enthusiast entered and won his first strength competition before going on to succeed in a number of other events.

In December he started training with coach Rhiannon Lovelace who spotted his bench press potential and encouraged him to enter the BPU Championships.

Mr Wright is now on a strict regime of eating every two hours and training daily at The Pit Gym, in Bishop Auckland, ahead of the world contest in Orlando in November.

“My ultimate goal is to quit my job and class myself as a full-time athlete,” he said.

“It’s everything I want to do and the opportunities and possibilities are coming in thick and fast.

"It’s hard to get my head around it - it’s a dream come true.”

Mr Wright is now seeking sponsorship and funding to help cover the estimated £2,000 cost of getting to the competition.

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