Telford powerlifter using world title fight to help charity

Chepa, 38, is a Ukrainian national but lives in Muxton in Telford and is a two-time benchpress world champion looking to make it a hat-trick of global crowns.

His focus, though, is on supporting the charity Elle's Angels, a West Midlands based charity who support families while their young children are undergoing hardship.

Chepa's story is a remarkable one. The Cherkasy-born weightlifter, who has called Telford home for almost 20 years, admits he is lacking on preparation for tonight's WDFPF World Benchpress Championship in France because he spent more than a month on a rescue mission to save six members of his family and friends from Poland, where they had escaped war-torn Ukraine.

But Chepa, a contract negotiator in plumbing and heating, is focused on helping another cause. He said: "I was fortunate enough to have good health where I could train seven days a week.

"But it's a bit of lottery, lift stupid weights, pick up some injuries but I could still walk – grind my body to absolute failure. However I'm still enjoying life.

"But unfortunately my ex-training partner, Greg, had a disabled daughter Julia and I've realised how much pressure that puts on the family.

"It made me realise how fortunate I am to have health at this level and how unfortunate the disabled children are."

Chepa will compete in the -90kg weight category and aims to bench 180kg, which is around 10kg short of what he has managed before in competitive action.

He was world champion in 2013 and 2018, also having raised funds for charity in the former.

The Telford lifter hopes to bag at least a bronze medal, but having gone from a household of one to household of seven and the charity on the forefront of his mind – he knows winning is not everything.

"For them every day is a struggle and I thought it was a good opportunity to use this event to raise funds for the charity," he added.

"It's an eye-opener how they have to look at things. We should not count our blessings.

"Hopefully it make a disable child's life a little brighter – I don't expect it to change completely – but it could make somebody's special day, meal, drink, or maybe even treatment.

"It's a small charity, they only survive on donations, it's really supporting the kids and also the parents because I didn't realise the pressure on parents to raise a disabled child."

Chepa has already raised more than £1,100 for Elle's Angels and hopes to push his total further. You can support him and the charity by visiting www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dan-chepa4