Hailing from Preston, England, Sarah is a 29 year old pageant queen breaking all stereotypes and promoting the message, ‘Strong is Beautiful’ as she prepares herself for weightlifting at the Olympics. Former Miss Leeds and Miss Intercontinental England 2018/19, Sarah Davies has got the best of both worlds, combining the opposite worlds while challenging the stereotypes. Davies is a 2018 Commonwealth Games (69 kg) Silver medallist, who wants to inspire young girls and show them that being strong is being beautiful.

Being the chair of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) athlete’s commission, she is active in seeking structural changes and speaking out against the male dominance in the industry.

Talking about challenges of being a Weightlifter and Pageant Queen, Sarah shared, “Being a Weightlifter & Pageant Queen definitely challenges the stereotypes. Unfortunately, not every organisation in the world values women for everything they are and what they can do. Gender inequality still exists. I will continue to challenge this every day until women are truly treated equally.”

While she recalls being bullied in school for being muscular and encountering hostility at a pageant where there was attempt to stop her from walking out in a swimsuit, Sarah also sees sparks of acceptance and change in beauty standards. Sharing her recent experiences, Sarah expressed, “If you actually spend time in the pageant world, you realise that they are a group of inspirational women who are doing everything they can to put themselves out there as the best role models for the next generation."

Sarah feels proud to be part of a generation showing that women can be anyone or anything they want. While there are still imbalances in places but women are making the change and there can be no better example than hers, inspiring women to be ‘who you needed when you were younger.’

This year, the British lifter plans to compete for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics before heading over to New York to dress up in sparkling dresses and represent her country at another pageant.