Louise Sugden

Louise Sugden, born in Newbury in 1984, is a British para powerlifter who was previously an international wheelchair basketball player. She began playing wheelchair basketball at thirteen, competed in six European championships, winning bronze in five of them, and took gold at the 2011 Paralympic World Cup. She played at the Beijing and London Paralympic Games before retiring from international competition in 2016 and from the sport in 2017. She took up para powerlifting in 2017 and, nine months later, won a silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. At the 2020 Paralympic Games she won bronze in the women's 86 kilogram category with a final lift of 131 kilograms, and her personal best is 133 kilograms.