Melton, near Woodbridge, former World’s Strongest Woman title holder Andrea Thompson celebrates return to the sport after serious injury

A former World’s Strongest Woman title holder, who overcame a serious injury to compete in a British strongwoman event, described her emotions as she returned to the sport.

Andrea Thompson, 40, from Melton, near Woodbridge, travelled to the Doncaster Dome at the end of September to take part in Britain’s Strongest Woman.

Despite her hardships, Andrea, who works as an apprenticeship assessor at Suffolk New College in Ipswich and who took the title of World’s Strongest Woman in 2018, came in third place, competing against 13 other hopefuls.

Nearly 2,000 people watched her show her strength.

But, she described her appearance as ‘touch and go’ – not knowing whether she’d be able to compete.

The mum-of-two said: “I saw someone trying to flip a tyre at the Suffolk Show and said to my daughter that I could do better than them – I was showing off a little bit. But, when I tried to pick the tyre up, I heard a tremendous noise and realised something was wrong.

“It turns out I had torn a bicep and had to have an operation within a week.

“I was told that I wasn’t going to be able to compete again this year by my coach. But I was determined to prove them wrong. And, I kept training hard and trusted in myself and my body.”

Andrea’s determination meant she was able to attend the event, and she said the experience was ‘amazing’.

The women’s event sold more than the men’s, Andrea noted, which was signalled how the sport had grown.

Andrea said: “When I first started out, we used to compete in front of friends and family.

“This time, we had interviews, fireworks, presenters, headshots, our own dressing room, clothing with our names on and the organisers are currently in talks with Channel 5 and others to show the competition on TV over Christmas.

“Ultimately, I was happy to come third. I always go into a competition thinking I’m going to win. But after my injury problems, I set a target of finishing fourth.

“When I realised where I’d come, I got quite emotional.”

However, it doesn’t end there for Andrea, who will go on to compete in two more tournaments in the coming months.

She has her eyes set to try and reclaim her title of World’s Strongest Woman in West Virginia in December, and is set to compete in the Master’s category.

If successful, she could take home a prize of $5,000 (£4,111).

Andrea came second in last year’s event, and third in 2019.

Andrea also hopes to meet her idol Arnold Schwarzenegger again when she takes part in the Arnold Sports Festival in Ohio, set for March 2024.

She added: “I’ve met him a few times. I never normally get starstruck, but with Arnie it’s different.

“I get flustered when I see him. He is just so iconic.”