Britney Arendse from Mullagh in Co Cavan survived a life-changing car crash in 2009. Now she is a world record holder in para powerlifting and wants to represent Ireland at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

The 18-year-old set the para powerlifting junior world record in September lifting 98.5kg at the Asia-Oceania Open in Japan.

Girl power! Britney fought to live after a car accident. Now she’s a world record holder. pic.twitter.com/vynECM0lDU — RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 3, 2018

Para powerlifting athletes have an impairment in their lower limbs or hips, which would prohibit them to compete in able-bodied weight lifting.

After a car crash in 2009 when she was nine-years-old, Britney was on life support for three weeks and spent a further 12 months in hospital and rehab.

"The doctors just told me that I was going to live the rest of my life in a wheelchair and I just handled it from then", says Britney.

She wants to represent Ireland at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. To do this she must rank in the top eight of her weight category in the world.

"First of all comes all the training. You have to train, train, train really hard. Stay focused. Eat healthy", she says.

The next competition for Britney Arendse will be the Fazza Dubai 2019 Para Powerlifting World Cup in February of next year.