Buckie strongwoman finishes sixth UK’s Strongest Woman competition in Warrington, Cheshire
A woman who was bullied at school and later diagnosed with clinical depression has made her younger self proud after becoming one of the United Kingdom’s strongest women.
Steffie Murray, from Buckie, “dropped out of sports” as a school pupil due to bullying - but has picked it up later in life.
On August 25, she competed in the UK’s Strongest Woman competition for the first time, finishing sixth.
There, she competed against the strongest women in the UK, Europe, and the world.
Before stepping out to compete, Steffie has a little think about the teenage girl she was - and how proud she would be of the woman she has become.
“Younger Steffie would be saying ‘go for it!’”, she said.
“I was sporty in school but got badly bullied so I dropped out of sports. That’s something I think about in the stadium.
“When I’m standing waiting for my name to be called, I have a moment to myself and think back to when I loved sports and how happy it made me, and how I was denied that because of the bullying and how awful that was.”
Now, Steffie hopes to inspire youngsters facing the same problems she did.
“It’s humbling when people talk to me about bullying, or their kids being bullied,” she added.
“It’s difficult, but what I would say to kids is that there is nothing wrong with you. There is something wrong with the person who is being horrible.”
Steffie faced difficulties later in life, too, when she was diagnosed with clinical depression in her twenties.
The illness was worsened during the coronavirus pandemic, with once mundane tasks becoming difficult for the 36-year-old, who “wasn’t training or eating”.
Taking part in strongwoman has helped ease the effects of Steffie’s depression - and she has risen through the ranks at lightning speed.
Her first competition was in 2019 and only five years - and eight competitions - later she has become the UK’s sixth strongest woman.
She added: “To rise through the ranks that quickly is good.
“I find if I’m lifting heavy weights my mind can’t wander! It’s good to get out of your head and focus on what your body can do.
“It builds mental resilience, you feel confident in yourself and it has helped a lot with my depression.
Steffie was recovering from a torn calf muscle ahead of UK’s Strongest Woman, which took place at the 15,000-capacity Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington, Cheshire.
She had five weeks to train, and it was her first ever UK-wide competition. She was the only Scot taking part.
“It was a big step up and I was up against such high-calibre opposition,” she said.
“I wanted to have fun and do my best. I’m competing at such a high level that you do learn a lot. You don’t get better by staying at the same level.
“I can mix it with the best in the world.”
Steffie competed in five events - a max deadlift (finishing fourth); the 70kg log press (fourth); the 120kg anchor pull (fifth); the 100kg duckwalk (fifth) and the 12kg sandbag (seventh).
She was supported by her partner and a friend with her daughter in Warrington - adding that, despite being the only Scot, she managed to win over the crowd who were “cheering everybody on”.
