East Alton’s Shirley Webb Becomes World Champion Powerlifter at Age 81

Colin Feeney, Contributing Sports Writer

Jul 1, 2019 3:33 PM Jul 2, 2019 9:01 AM

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EAST ALTON – When Shirley Webb started going to a gym in 2014, she couldn’t climb steps or get up off the floor without needing help.

Today, she’s a world champion powerlifter who’s won 17 medals in national and international competitions.

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And it’s been quite the journey for the 81-year-old lifter from East Alton in the past five years.

And at first, she was reluctant to join the Leisure World Health Club in Bethalto, where she regularly trains.

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“My granddaughter, Dorian Webb, was 16 at the time, and wanted to join a club,” Webb said in a recent interview, “and she wanted me to join with her. I didn’t want to at first, but I finally gave in.”

That was in April, 2014, and from there, Webb found a trainer, John Wright, to help her out, and at the time she joined, she was experiencing difficulties in getting around.

“At the time I joined, I couldn’t get up off the floor unless I had a chair or something to help push myself up,” Webb said, “and I couldn’t climb the stairs with using both hand on the handrail to pull myself up. Now I can do both. I can off the floor myself, and I can climb the stairs myself without holding on to the handrail.”

As Webb and her granddaughter started working out regularly, a trainer started paying attention to the both of them, and noticed how strong both of them were.

“A trainer realized that Dorian and I were pretty strong people,” Webb said, “and he started adding weights, and then he posted a video of me deadlifting 225 pounds three times.”

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