Rosemary Nichols Breaks World Record

At an age when most people are content to take it easy, Rosemary Nichols is rewriting the playbook on aging. At 86, she’s not only lifting weights – she’s breaking barriers on the world stage.

This past July, Nichols competed in the 2025 USPA Power Nationals in Pittsburgh. Taking the platform in the 85+ age division, she claimed world records in all three lifts – squat, bench press, and deadlift – in the International Powerlifting League. Her final deadlift of 92.5 kilograms (203 pounds) brought cheers.

For her coach, Kyle Singh, the experience was unforgettable.

Rosemary Nichols (right) with her coach, Kyle Singh (left).

“I was nervous to coach her on the platform – do I yell at this kind and caring 86-year-old lady to get her lifts? What do I do? HOW do I do it? But Rosemary crushed it.” Singh said afterward. 

Nichols didn’t step into a gym until she was 71. After a 46-year career behind a desk, she wanted to lose some weight. At her daughter-in-law’s suggestion, she started Zumba Gold classes. 

“Before the month was up,” she says, “I had a chance to take a free session with a trainer, and I took it, and that changed my life. I lost weight, started taking all of the senior classes, and was progressing well.”

“When I was 75,” she continued, “my trainer suggested that I take the national certification (Academy of Sports Medicine Certification) so I could become a trainer and maybe teach at the club.”

As an instructor, Nichols recalled working with older students, and adapting the exercises for chair-based classes. “What’s important is that it’s still possible to build muscle in your 90s, and to lose body fat in your 90s,” she said, “You can start at any time, and it’s never too late.”

Then, one day, the gym got new equipment – six lifting stations. Her trainer had her try out deadlifting. 

“I set my three-month goal at 145 pounds,” she recalled. “But I lifted 145 on my first day.” Within months she was deadlifting over 200 pounds – and she’s been hooked ever since.

By age 79, she was competing. In her very first meet, just five days before her birthday, she deadlifted enough to top the state charts in the Masters Women 75–79 division. Months later, she added national records in squat, bench, and deadlift, even earning the Best Lifter Award among her peers.

Powerlifting didn’t erase her challenges. Nichols had to work through hip and shoulder mobility issues, the aches of aging, and the nerves of competing on an unfamiliar stage. But she discovered something she wishes more older women would: the joy of becoming stronger than she ever imagined.

Then, during Covid, she took a hiatus, at least from the gym. At home, she kept up with her routines and even worked on her deadlifts by creating an impromptu barbell – using a metal bar between two cement blocks. 

“The hardest part about beginning lifting as an older woman,” she says, “is learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

She now trains regularly at Mount Hood Athletic Club in Sandy, Oregon. Her advice to women who want to try? Find a certified coach – preferably one who competes – and start where you are. 

While Rosemary’s medals and achievements are impressive, it’s the ripple effect of her story that may be most powerful.

“Any excuse you think you have is now invalid,” Singh said. “She started lifting in her late 70s, and she’s still breaking records at 86. She’s everything we all hope to be.”

Nichols herself puts it more simply:

“Strength training changed my life. I just want to show others that it’s never too late.”

For now, she’s enjoying a well-earned offseason, time with her family and friends and the satisfaction of knowing the beat goes on – even when the barbell is heavy. For Rosemary Nichols, that rhythm is strength itself.