A Longridge woman is heading off to America in a bid to bring the World’s Strongest Woman title back to Lancashire.

Andrea Seed is flying out to Madison, Wisconsin, to compete in the Official Strongman Games from 5-8 December.

The competition brings hundreds of Strongman and Strongwoman athletes from more than 35 countries together.

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The Longridge woman said: “I’m 41 and mum to a five-year-old and I want to be able to inspire people of all ages, backgrounds and circumstances that you can be whatever you want to be.

“I’ve no background in sports and I always skipped PE at school, but now I’m ready to compete with the best in the world.”

Andrea has previously been named ‘Britain’s Strongest Natural Woman’ in 2021 and came fourth in Europe Strongest Woman competition earlier this year.

For Andrea, competing and training for these competitions has changed her entire life after she started weightlifting after suffering postnatal depression.

“I felt like I just didn’t really know myself, I’d lost myself a little bit,” she said.

“Then someone I know told me about a strong man gym in Preston.  They said just go down there and have a chat because there might be something different that you can do.

“They sort of took me in and it took a long time for me to come out of the shadows, but I felt that by having something for me that wasn’t about being a mum, it was just about me tapping into my own resilience that was already there, that I didn’t realise was there.

“I started lifting weights and I was ok at it, which is not something I’ve ever really experienced before.

“I wasn’t feeling too great mentally, but I found that by succeeding in something and making my body strong and going somewhere and doing something just for me, I started to find a bit more of a purpose and find myself back a bit.

“For me it was about finding my potential and believing in myself a little bit.”

Andrea is competing in the Masters category, which is for those over the age of 40, and will have to get through four gruelling events to be one of the final 10 competitors.

By day Andrea works in works in Lancashire County Council’s Adult Social Care Team.

Councillor Graham Gooch, cabinet member for adult social care, said: “We all wish Andrea the best of luck in her competition.

“It’s great to see her using a strength-based approach both inside and outside of work.  Andrea has supported social workers to bring in a new way of working at the county council through Living Better Lives in Lancashire.

“Through this, we encourage people to make use of what’s strong in their community, such as support from friends, family and local organisations to stay well, achieve what they want and to live independently for longer.”

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