HAMPTON, Va. — A Hampton woman shows it’s never too late to accomplish your goals.
58-year-old Tracey Mitchell is an administrator at Christopher Newport University for a living, but since 2018, she’s adding competitive powerlifting to her resume.
“Age is just a number, haha! It’s nothing but a number!” she laughed.
Mitchell started training at Better Bodies 757 and said she has never felt better. The owner of the gym, Susan Ottey, said Mitchell is an inspiration to many people who work out at the facility.
“When she walks into this door, everyone is like, 'Miss Tracey is here,'” she explained.
Better Bodies 757 is dedicated to empowering women to improve their health through fitness. Mitchell said after seeing several women powerlifting, she decided she wanted to try the sport.
Although she said it’s challenging, she feels accomplished once she lifts something she never thought she would be able to.
“It’s empowering women, I being able to lift something a lot heavier than you ever expected,” she said.
On December 11, 2021, Mitchell competed in her first powerlifting meet led by the United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) North Carolina's Winter Swollstice, hosted at Ogun's in Hampton.
Tracey broke nine local records across the board from Bench Press, Squats, and Deadlifts.
“That made me the first and so that will be in the books for now,” she said. “It feels good to accomplish it and just believe in yourself and be able to do it and keep at it. That’s the best thing about it.”
Mitchell said she is currently taking a break from weightlifting but plans to return soon. She wants to break her previous records.