Bobbie Butters is a force of nature. She is ranked second only to Joy Nnamani in British Powerlifting (on GL points) and has held the 57kg squat world record since 2021.
I first met Bobbie in 2016 when I weighed in a junior 63, brand new to British Powerlifting, and took some outlandish sounding opening attempts from her. I remember asking "are you sure?". She won the British Juniors not long after that and it has been my pleasure to have watched her compete ever since.
Bobbie has always brought a measured scientific approach and absolute commitment to her training and fire and intense energy to the platform. Current European Champion, she has won the bronze medal at the last 3 world championships.
However, Bobbie did not have the day she wanted at Classic Worlds. Unfortunately, not every day is your best and the cruellest aspect of this sport is that, after months of training, you have 60 seconds to execute perfectly.
On squat, she set herself up well with a nice looking 175kg, then 182.5kg but a world record attempt of 186kg just did not go. This was a big surprise - I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have seen Bobbie fail a squat. This left her with the silver medal.
She missed again on bench. 110kg has been steady and reliable for the last couple of years but wasn't available on this day and, once more, Bobbie took the silver. She led the field at sub-total, as always, but only 2.5kg ahead of Natalie Richards. Bobbie has always needed to squeeze every kilo out of her sub-total to guard against the inevitable slipping down the field on deadlift.
Indeed, Bobbie slipped back to 3rd with her 170kg opener. She hung on til the last but the junior world champion, Maiara da Silva, snuck past with her final pull and Bobbie slipped off the podium altogether.
For most, two silver medals and fourth place in a field of 29 of the best lifters in the world, would be a rare and incredible feat. But for an athlete of Bobbie's calibre, when you aim to win, anything less is a disappointment.
What I do know though is that she is a fighter to her very core. She has the heart of a champion and her disappointment will only fuel the drive to get back where she belongs, back up on that podium.
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