Paul Rutherford (born 14 February 1970) is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

powerlifter. He is a Multiple World Powerlifting Champion.Results after the drug tests
bdfpa.co.uk Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, he developed

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

as an infant which severely affected his immune system and stunted his growth. As a result, he was short and very underweight as a child. Rutherford began

weight training Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength, size of skeletal muscles and maintenance of strength.Keogh, Justin W, and Paul W Winwood. “Report for: The Epidemiology of Injuries Across the Weight-Traini ...

after being bullied at school. In 1985, aged 15, and at a body weight of only he took up the sport of

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

. He competed as junior lifter until 1989. The 5 ft 6in personal trainer won 11 championship titles from 1986 to 1990 but then retired. In March 2007 he promised his nine-year-old son he would make an improbable comeback after watching the film ''

Rocky Balboa Robert "Rocky" Balboa (also known by his ring name The Italian Stallion), is a fictional title character and the protagonist of the ''Rocky'' film series. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in all eigh ...

'', starring

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

, which was all about Rocky being older but making a ring comeback. In 2007 he achieved a silver medal at the European Powerlifting championships, and then bronze at the 2009 World Championships. In 2010 he finally achieved his dream of becoming World Powerlifting Champion at the age of 41. He again won the World Championships in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2021. His daughter Hayley Rutherford and his son Ryan Rutherford have also won their respective divisions at the WDFPF World Championships. Paul took three years away from competition between 2015 and 2018. He returned the international competition at the World Championships in 2018 achieving a silver medal. He again won his class at the 2019 World Championships held in Halle Germany. Between 2019 and 2021 Paul tore a thigh muscle and contracted Covid-19 twice which severely hampered his ability to exercise; however, he did manage to pick up his 6th world title in Castleblayney Ireland in November 2021. Paul has been a private trainer and lifestyle management coach for nearly 30 years. His motto is "Keep it Simple" & "let your actions not your emotions guide you."

Career titles

*Scottish Champion 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2008, 2010, 2011 *British Junior Champion 1989 *British Masters Champion 2010, 2011 *British Champion 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 *European Silver medallist 2007 *World Bronze Medallist 2009 *World Unequipped Champ 2010 *World Equipped Champion 2011 *World Equipped Champion 2013 *World Equipped Champion 2015 *World Equipped Champion 2019 *World Equipped Champion 2021 *World Equipped Champion 2022 Sources:OPEN Powerlifting
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References

* aul is still going strong at 40(http://www.paisleydailyexpress.co.uk/2010/12/01/paul-is-still-going-strong-at-40-87085-27743677/), ''Paisley Daily Express'' * told my boy I'd be a powerlift champ again after watching Rocky!(http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/i-told-my-boy-i-d-be-a-powerlift-champ-again-after-watching-rocky-1.975866), ''Evening Times'' * owerlifter Ruthy is the Rocky Balboa of Yorkhill(http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/editor-s-picks/powerlifter-ruthy-is-the-rocky-balboa-of-yorkhill-1.1071382), ''Evening Times''

External links

Official websiteBritish Drug Free Powerlifting FederationWORLD Drug Free Powerlifting Federation
Paul 210k

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherford, Paul British powerlifters Sportspeople from Glasgow 1970 births Living people