World’s fittest jockey? Meet the woman putting men to shame by lifting almost treble her bodyweight

POWERLIFTER jockey Rosie Jessop puts her male rivals to shame – by lifting almost treble her bodyweight.

The rider, who is from Essex but works as the only woman jockey in Bahrain, is an absolute machine in the gym.

Jockey Jessop is a machine in the gym – putting her male counterparts to shame

Jessop can lift almost treble her bodyweight

Jockeys regularly have to watch their weight, existing on a meagre diet in a desperate bid to be as light as possible.

But Jessop, 33, burns so many calories in the gym it looks like she can afford to indulge every now and again.

Jessop recently posted a video of herself deadlifting 147kg while weighing just 52kg.

A normal rule of thumb is that someone should be able to deadlift double their bodyweight.

But Jessop can do almost three times what she weighs.

In fact, the ease with which she hoisted 147kg off the floor suggests treble her weight – 156kg – would be no problem at all.

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Jessop describes lifting as her ‘second passion’ behind racing – a sport she got into through the legendary Sir Mark Prescott.

As a budding 16-year-old rider she wrote to a load of trainers and got a surprise reply from the Arc-winning horseman.

She packed her bags and left home dreaming of the future.

Recalling that brave move, Jessop told GDN: “I just left home, had no family there, no friends, knew absolutely nobody.

“But I’m glad I did because I ended up working for Sir Mark for 13 years! I absolutely loved working with him!

“Since I was employed full-time by Sir Mark, he would only allow me to come to Bahrain for about five months – which is approximately how long the racing season lasts here.

“Sir Mark had made me head girl, which is general stable manager of the horses and staff.

“It was great but I was still trying to do the race riding also and it started to … get a little bit too much. I was trying to balance two different jobs at the same time but I had to choose between one or the other.

“I had a very good job opportunity to come here, so I did, in 2018.

“Racing in the UK is very hard. There are lots of jockeys, lots of travelling and not many horses.

“It made sense to come here, not only for the opportunity to ride but, also, because I loved coming to Bahrain before and I knew I would love to live here. It’s so fabulous!”

If she now calls Bahrain home it’s clear to see the gym is her second home.

She can squat 97.5kg and bench press more than 50kg.

It’s the deadlift she really excels in though, so much so that she has entered powerlifting competitions in the past.

But there’s one goal that she puts above all others.

She added: “I want to become the first woman to win the jockeys’ championship in Bahrain.”

Hopefully the weight won’t be too long.

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