Natalie Hanson loves a good underdog story. Partly because she has one of her own.
Hanson, a 25-year-old from Bethel, placed fourth at an international powerlifting competition last month in Luxembourg – a meet she entered as a virtual unknown, according to a report by KYUK Public Media.
"It's really fun being an underdog — it's a lot of fun — because nobody even looks at you or thinks twice about you," Hanson said.
Hanson started participating in powerlifting three years ago. Last month she made her debut at the IPF Open World Championships.
"There's a database online when a world championship is coming up and there's a hyperlink on each person's name," Hanson said. "You click on their link and it goes to their lifting history and my name wasn't even hyperlinked because I had no lifting history."
Hanson, who placed fourth overall in her weight class, initially didn't get an invitation to compete — she was an alternate after placing second in the qualifying event. Then someone dropped out.
"I had a feeling it was coming, but when it finally did, it was pretty surreal," Hanson said. "I'm relatively new to the sport. I was the youngest on the team by several years, and so I just felt like a little fish in a huge ocean."
Hanson grew up in Bethel and began powerlifting after she moved to Anchorage for graduate school in 2012.
In the years since, she has set national records in women's squat and lift, with her most recent record — 530 pounds in the squat — coming at the 2015 Men's and Women's National Powerlifting Championships in Texas in May.
Lifting more than 500 pounds is pretty thrilling, Hanson said.
"Part of what makes it so exhilarating and fun is that it's really scary too," she said. "It takes 100 percent of your brain to focus on what you're doing at that exact moment, but once you're done, you can let your mind relax."
Mental focus is a hallmark of those who succeed in the sport, she said. Hanson works out five days a week, works part-time and is pursuing a master's degree in civil engineering at UAA. She is due to graduate next summer.
Her parents and older brother are a huge part of her support network. Her mom, Kathy Hanson, said she was surprised when Natalie first told her she was pursuing powerlifting.
"I think like a lot of people I said, 'What's powerlifting? Why would anyone want to do that? That doesn't sound like very much fun,' " she said.
As time went on, Kathy learned to understand the sport. Now Hanson's parents follow her competitions across the nation and beyond, including the World Championships in Europe.
Outside of her other obligations, Hanson remotely coaches 17-year-old Sophie Swope, a Bethel high school student and two-time state powerlifting champion.
Swope, a senior, heard about Hanson when she was a freshman. She said Hanson encourages her to compete in state competitions and offers her feedback through social media.
"Lately, we've actually just been sending our videos through text message or on Facebook," Swope said.
With her next competition coming up in March and the completion of her master's degree expected soon after that, Hanson is unsure of what's next. But whether it's powerlifting, engineering or both, she's in no hurry to choose.
This article originally appeared at KYUK Public Media and is republished here with permission.