Lucy Milgrim is not your typical 9-year-old! While most girls her age spend most of their time on their phones, she lifts several times her own body weight, wrestles professionally, and trains five times per week. She has already set three U.S records through the USA Powerlifting organisation, and recently shocked the world by deadlifting 180 lbs in front of a cheering crowd.
Last month, while attending the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, Lucy performed an athletic feat that instantly made her an online sensation. At just nine years of age and weighing just 60 lbs, she managed to deadlift 180 lbs in one clean motion.
Lucy’s proud father, Brett Milgrim, told People Magazine that she had always been a “naturally strong kid,” and that she had a different baseline than most kids. He and his wife would train in the gym when Lucy was just a toddler, and she started emulating them.
“My mom and dad; they were working out in the gym, and I saw them doing all this cool stuff, and I wanted to try it too,” the 9-year-old confirmed. I got interested in wrestling because my dad [is] a wrestling coach and he used to bring me and my brother to wrestling practices.”
While certainly impressive for her age and light weight, Lucy Milgrim’s achievements have sparked controversy on social media. As clips of her deadlifting three times her body weight started going viral online, some started speculating that the heavy lifting could have serious health-related consequences.
“While impressive, I’m not sure this is a good thing for a 9 year old to be doing,”one person commented. Her bones & muscles are not at a stage to be bulked up like this yet. I worry she is going to injure herself”.
“This is unsafe…she still has her growth plates. Children aren’t supposed to lift till they are in high school, past puberty. Pelvic floor will suffer quickly…” someone else wrote.
Lucy Milgrim have yet to respond to the criticism on social media.
