Bicester’S Nicola Stimpson has made an incredible return to competition after taking a year out to have a baby.

The new mum got straight back to training after giving birth to her son to continue to pursue her dreams of representing her country.

Stimpson made a successful debut in 2016 qualifying to compete in the British Championships but then found out she was pregnant

On her return outing at the South Midlands Championships, she competed in the weight division above her natural size and still broke the all-time area record with an opening squat of 160kg.

She then continued her success with a respectable bench press of 72.5kg that left her and two rivals running away from the field.

Her primary focus was to ensure she lifted enough in the deadlift, the final event of the day, to qualify for the English Championships later in the year.

Stimpson lifted a staggering 170kg not only book her place, but also to put the rest of the division on notice that she has returned as strong as ever.

She said: “It is great to get back out doing what I love and I feel relieved to know that taking the time out of training to become a mum has not had a long term effect on my strength.”

Logan Usher, head coach of Functional Fitness where she trains, said: “Nicola has an extremely driven mindset and that has shown in her ability to return to this incredible level of strength in such a short time.

“She deserves all of the success she has already achieved.”