Cundall boss Carole smashes sporting record

An engineering and design consultancy boss has smashed a sporting record.

Cundall's Carole O’Neil has broken the British bench press record at the 2025 British Bench Press Championships with a 98kg lift, securing gold and a place on Team GB.

The Cundall managing partner achieved a personal best and an invitation to the 2025 GB Squad for Bench Worlds, achieving the two goals she had set for herself before the competition.

Carole said: “I had a blast, hanging out with friends from the powerlifting community and putting up some numbers that exceeded my expectations. 

“It feels pretty awesome to be able to call myself a British record holder.

“More importantly, though, this whole sport relies on an army of volunteers to make it work, so it was great to be able to give back by spending a few hours refereeing some of the other groups, once I’d finished lifting.”

Carole’s powerlifting journey began just seven years ago at a local gym in Newcastle, followed by her first competition in Ashington. 

She has since gone on to compete in multiple competitions, including winning a gold, silver and bronze medal at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Federation Championships in South Africa last October.

And having now made the Team GB squad, Carole is looking forward to a year of competition and officiating.

She added: “Having made the Team GB squad, I have squads in Sheffield in March, following which I hope to be travelling to Norway in May for the International Powerlifting Federation Bench Press World Championships. 

“After that, it will be a fairly short turnaround for Full Power Nationals in Surrey in June and, hopefully, some further tours of international duty in bench press and three-lift competitions later in the year.  

“I’ve also recently been promoted to national referee status, so I’ll be filling up a few weekends with official duties at regional and national competitions over the next few months.”

Find out more about Carole’s inspiring powerlifting story and how the sport has helped transform her life and career in our sister publication, N, here.

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