STRONG woman Sue Hollands is used to doing the lifting.
But it was devoted husband Tony who gave his wife a big pick-me-up when he made a surprise 1,500-mile round-trip to see her claim her latest powerlifting title.
Sue, 58, was in Pilsen in the Czech Republic to compete in the World Masters Powerlifting Championship.
The Bradley CE Infant and Nursery School teacher, of Ravensthorpe, had won the 90kg class of the over-50s section eight years in a row.
But Tony, 66, had never had the chance to see her do it.
He said: said: “I can’t normally get to the tournaments because they are so far away – last year it was in Palm Springs in California, next year it’s in Canada.
“So when I found out you could get a bus from Dewsbury to Pilsen for £54 return I thought, why not?”
Tony, a lollipop man and former bank worker, spent 28 hours on the road to get to Pilsen without Sue knowing, before secretly taking his seat in the stand.
He said: “I didn’t want her to be put off – I thought if she sees me she will think something is the matter.
“It’s her thing, her glory, I just wanted to be there – in my Union Jack shorts, cap and shirt – to see her do it.
“So I just got myself a seat behind a pillar, where I could peer out.”
Once again, Sue claimed gold by lifting the best combined weight in the three disciplines – the squat, bench press and deadlift.
But it wasn’t until she had got changed afterwards that she spotted Tony.
She said: “I walked out of the changing room and there he was, it was a total shock.
“Everybody else knew but me. I think he thought that if I saw him it might’ve put me off. It was wonderful to see him.”
Tony added: “She’s very seldom lost for words, so to see her speechless was great.
“Every week I’ll go to the gym with her and be the tea boy or the driver, so I was so proud seeing her in competition.”
Despite her recent victory, Sue already has her sights set on next year’s tournament.
The mother-of-three said: “It’s been drummed into me that whenever you win a competition, the next time you go into the gym you wear your medals around your neck and you’re the best thing since sliced bread.
“But the time after that it’s back to work.
“I’m still really healthy. There’s one woman who’s 68 who’s still competing. I’d like to think I could do the same – I’m still 20 in my head.”
