LOS ANGELES: Carly Patterson started out in the gym to get stronger for her role as a disability support worker.

Barely 18 months later she’s winning state titles, and now has a national podium within reach.

Having collected both NSW and Tasmanian crowns before Christmas, the 36-year-old from Scone qualified to compete at Australia’s Strongest Man & Woman 2026.

“This year has just been hectic,” mother-of-two Patterson told the media when reflecting on her rapid rise up the ranks during 2025.

“I’m very proud of it, but at the same time it’s been unexpected and a wave I’m continuing to ride.”

Her journey into the sport, which involves various challenges including deadlifts, farmer’s carry and Atlas stones, was born more out of practicality than anything else.

“About 18 months ago I started strength training,” she said.

“I’m a disability support worker so I wheel people around and they get heavy, but I didn’t want them to feel like my out of breath was on them.

“They have enough going on, I don’t want them to feel like I can’t cope with their weight. That was the main reasoning.”

Competition followed for the former netballer, kicking off early last year. “I’m so new to this,” she said.

“My first competition was in Tamworth in January and I was entered in what’s referred to as novice events.

“I won that and thought that was pretty cool, let’s do it again.

“Then I did Muswellbrook to touch base and then my first time in the open women’s category was Broke in June.”

That’s when Patterson really started dreaming.

“The guy I trained with moved away and I met my current coach [Macauley Tinker] through the Highland Games [in Melbourne in March, 2025],” she said.

“I sort of just rang him one day and went ‘you know what, I want to be Australia’s strongest female’.

“He was like ‘yeah you do and you can do it. Just let me know when you want to start and what we’re going to do’.

“I’d only just won Broke first time out of novice and he’s like ‘we’re going to do a state titles and that’s your ticket to where you want to go’.”

Patterson described the Tasmanian venture in November as a “big whirlwind of emotions”, ultimately ending in success but not exactly going to script.

“If you saw my first event you would have thought why did she turn up,” Patterson said.

“I went flying with 200 kilograms of farmer’s carry and took a bit of a tumble.

“I looked at my partner [Troy Allen] and thought, ‘I’m not meant to be at this level and I’ve bitten off too much too soon’.”

Patterson managed to bounce back at Prince’s Wharf in Hobart, recovering to produce a clean sweep of the remaining four disciplines – trump log, deadlift ladder, sword hold and Atlas stones.

“It just shows it’s that mindset and that change you need to bring forward,” she said.

With a ticket to nationals already booked, Patterson could have easily foregone her home NSW event but opted to crack on at Emu Plains later that same month.

She described it as “a completely different competition”, with a gold medal at the end of a roughly 10-hour affair all coming down to carrying a sixth straight Atlas stone weighing 110 kilograms.

“I get goosebumps thinking about it,” Patterson said.

“It’s not something I thought would happen [two state titles in the same won] because I went to the gym to get stronger to push people around, not to get this sort of achievement.

“It’s been phenomenal. And all of the support from family and friends. I’m sure my partner and kids just love the holiday adventures.”

Next up on Patterson’s agenda will be a trip to Sydney’s Olympic Park in May (1-2) and facing off against some of the country’s best participants, potentially including international silver medalist Alira Joy.

“I can’t wait to see what happens at the Australian strong titles,” she said.

“My goal is to podium and I don’t care where. I don’t need to be Australia’s strongest woman, but I’d love to be top three.

“It would blow my mind, but I’ve only had the goal since June.”

Patterson finds comfort in the strongperson community.

“There’s no other sport that I know of where a person you are competing directly against is screaming at you to beat them,” she said.

“One girl before me lifted 200 [kg] 12 times, walked past me and said ‘you need 13 to win mate, get it’. Who says that?

“You don’t see Penrith go out against Manly [in NRL] and say can’t wait for you to beat me.”

Patterson regularly trains four times a week in nearby Muswellbrook, including sessions at a crossfit gym and somebody else’s back shed.

She also consults with a Melbourne-based nutritionist Steph Eggleton.

Her eldest son Tye, 13, recently took up the strongperson pursuit and received an encouragement award at last year’s NSW state titles. Her youngest child is named Kodin.

And what do Patterson’s disability support patients think about it all?

“One of my clients has no feeling from her hips down,” she said.

“So for her car transfer, depending on the car, sometimes it might be a bit high so we need to brace her hips for a push.

“She told me the other day ‘I love it when you push me because it feels like I’m going to end up in the driver’s seat’.

“They think it’s a bit funny, but they’re all very proud and really supportive.”