Just two weeks after surgery on her legs, Lauren Sullivan, 20, was swimming in her local gym building up muscle.
The surgery was to straighten her legs which were causing her discomfort.
She told Sutton Guardian: “After surgery it was really painful because I had my legs in frames. I was very limited in what I could do.
“I couldn’t do any sport and I lost a lot of independence. It was worth it because now I can walk further and with less pain.”
Two years after surgery, Lauren won gold in powerlifting at the seventh World Dwarf Games in August 2017 in Canada.
She said: “I was invited to Canada and I was like yea I will go. When I found out I won gold in powerlifting after successfully doing my last lift I was like yes!
“It was immediately mixed emotions. I was shocked, happy and excited.
“I swear my mum was going to start crying. We were all just really happy. I wasn’t thinking I was going to win gold.
“Wow, I was not expecting to win.”
Lauren travelled over to Canada with her parents and a friend for the two week long World Dwarf Games.
The employee of Cats Protection in Carshalton celebrated her achievement by spending a few days in California.
“It was an amazing, really fun experience,” she said.
The next World Dwarf Games will be in 2021 with the location yet to be announced.
Lauren said she was unsure whether she will compete and is enjoying going to the gym for swimming and fitness reasons in her spare time.
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