Olivia Broome


Winning Commonwealth Games silver was the confidence boost Olivia Broome needed to shrug off her imposter syndrome.

The 24-year-old para powerlifter took home lightweight silver at her debut Commonwealth Games in Birmingham three years ago, sharing the podium with England teammate Zoe Newson.

It came less than a year after soaring to women's 50kg bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, and the Chorley-native noted that the continued success was the key to overcoming her doubts and cementing her spot on the podium.

"Winning Commonwealth silver has made be a more confident person but it's definitely made me a more confident lifter," she said.

"I still get a bit of imposter syndrome when I do events, but I know I do deserve to be here.

"I can now go onto the platform and I know that I can do it and deserve to be challenging much older lifters for medals."

Imposter syndrome has become a widely debated topic within sport over recent years.

For Broome, it came in the form of achieving so much at such a young age, facing more experienced competitors who had been around for longer, such as Newson.

The powerlifter started the sport when she was just 16-years-old and quickly found success on the world stage, winning junior 50kg gold at the 2018 European Para Powerlifting Championships, before 

Paralympic and Commonwealth medals led to the world crown in 2023.

It was a barrage of success that finally helped Broome realise her strength, even if the doubt still seeps in every now and then.

"It's definitely something I have had to work on through my career, especially when I was first starting the sport and my first ever major Games," she said.

"I was just thinking 'what am I doing here'.

"In Tokyo I was 20-years-old and at Birmingham I was 21. I knew I was with the best of the best and I was the baby compared to everyone else.

"Now, I will just get it in dribs and drabs, but I can cope with it. I've worked at it and I know I should be here."

Broome narrowly missed out on the podium at this year's World Championships, having stepped up to the 55kg category.

Unable to secure her second lift after a technique issue, she ended up matching her personal best with her third lift and finished just one kilogram away from bronze.

And against competitors who are usually the weight category above her, even Broome admitted that she allowed her medal superstitions to slip.

"Going into these Worlds, it was a different weight class to what I'm used to and whilst I have competed in the 55s, I have always been a 50s lifter and find that I do better in that weight class," she said. "So they were different and really strong competitors.

"It meant I went in just hoping for three good lifts and a personal best and see where that placed me.

"I never say that I'm going to medal. I have very strict rules about it. My parents are not even allowed to talk about it.

"But when the start lists were coming out and I saw the opening weights that I realised that I could challenge."

The finished result raised her Commonwealth Games ranking ahead of a potential return to the stage at Glasgow 2026.

And with the opportunity to upgrade her silver to gold, Broome is ready to bring her all.

"I want to win gold," she said. "I want to upgrade or if I can't, at least defend my silver.

"But the main this is to have an a amazing time out there with the team and do my best for England once again."