Six months ago, Lauri Siegal couldn't lift a tin of beans. Now, at just 17 years old, she's heading to the Strongwoman World Championships in Arizona. It's a remarkable turnaround for the teenager from Shetland, who only took up the sport late last year and has already qualified by placing in the top 10 of her category.
Her journey to the world stage is nothing short of inspiring. In January 2025, Lauri suffered a serious arm injury that kept her away from rugby—a sport she loved. The recovery was complicated by Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a chronic condition that causes severe, persistent pain. "The doctors told me at the most I could lift a can of food," she recalls. For nine months, she endured grueling rehab, with her physical activity extremely limited.
But Lauri's passion for strength sports never faded. Before her injury, she had watched strongwoman videos with her mother, Dawn, including clips of famous Scottish strongmen Tom and Luke Stoltman. "I remember thinking I would love to do that, but after I broke my arm it felt very far away," she says.
Cleared to return to exercise in September, Lauri didn't waste a moment. "Literally a week later I was back playing rugby, straight into tackles and rucks—which I think concerned my parents a bit," she laughs. "But I couldn't stop thinking about trying weightlifting. I wanted to give it a go."
She started training informally, attempting her first deadlifts that same month. Then, at the end of 2025, fate stepped in. The Stoltman brothers visited a gym in Shetland—the very gym Lauri belonged to. They announced plans to open a new gym in Invergordon and host a Strongman and Strongwoman competition, inviting everyone to participate in January.
Lauri was hesitant. "I was really unsure, as I had never done anything like this before and I had only just recovered from my injury," she admits. But she decided to "bite the bullet" and compete. That decision changed everything. Now, she's proving that with determination and the right mindset, you can go from struggling with a can of beans to competing on the world stage.