Maureen Proctor: How retirees helped 'Mighty Mo' to world powerlifting gold

Meet 'Mighty Mo', the diminutive 56-year-old retirement village gym instructor who found world-beating powerlifting inspiration in the most unlikely of places.

When Maureen Proctor went for a 150kg deadlift at the recent WPC World Championships in Florida, she thought of the residents she helps look after in Nottingham when an extra boost was needed.

It was the pensioners at ExtraCare's Lark Hill Retirement Village that raised funds - with the not-for-profit charity matching donations - to get the multiple world record holder and world champion to her "dream event" in the United States.

"It overwhelms me so much that they put their hands in their pocket, at a time like this, and championed me so much," Proctor told BBC East Midlands Today.

"I had a few personal goals in mind, numbers I wanted to hit, and in that final 25 seconds - the ones that you train 12 months for - I wasn't going to quit or finish until the lift was up.

"I didn't want to let them down. They gave me that extra push, which sometimes you need.

"I'm just eternally grateful. It wasn't something I could afford to go to, but from the donations everything was covered.

"It had been a dream for so long to compete in America where it is a step up".

Proctor defended the world title she won in Portugal last year, again taking gold in the 100kg class of the masters division - or what she calls the "old lady division".

While she has long lifted weights and hit the gym, powerlifting is only a sport she took up in 2013.

At 5ft 2in tall, she cuts a diminutive figure in the gym, but she quickly adds that she has "quite a big personality".

But it is not her stature that most surprises people.

"I think it's the age thing," she smiles.

"People don't think at 56 you can lift weights like that. But powerlifting is for everyone, it's all-inclusive."

Proctor admits she "never thought anyone was interested" in what she did as a powerlifter, with her focus when at work at the retirement home simply on helping residents build up their own strength.

With them nothing is remotely about deadlifting mind-boggling weights or generally "pumping iron", but about ensuring they have the best quality of life possible by being active.

"I love seeing people able to walk down the stairs, maybe for the first time in years, or maybe be able to reach for a cupboard or open a jar," Proctor said of the influence she has as a gym instructor.

"It's a fantastic feeling to enable them to keep moving and keep going."

With the World Championships in Florida live streamed, and a big screen set up at Lark Hill, the residents got to see her put in a shift on the weights for the first time.

"They had the screen up in the activity hall and were able to watch from start to finish, seeing me grunting and groaning - they loved it," Proctor said.

"It's bizarre, who would have thought it?"