Phillipsville’s Bonnie Mullaney has only competed in a couple of marquee weightlifting events in her career, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be adequately prepared for the Kettlebell World Championships in Toronto in September.

After three impressive victories at the National Kettlebell Championships in Las Vegas last month, Mullaney will soon be training for the professional one-armed long-cycle event after taking a few days off to let her body heal.

And Redwood Kettlebell Club head coach Kevin Jodrey thinks Mullaney has a legitimate shot to win based on her recent performances and dedicated effort.

“I truly believe she has a chance to win those two events,” Jodrey said. “She’s at the point where she believes she can do well because of how she did at nationals. She works hard and strives to achieve technical perfection.”

A kettlebell is a tradtional Russian cast iron weight that resembles a cannonball with a handle.

The two events at a typical kettlebell contest are the jerk lift and the snatch lift, with the jerk involving the athlete lifting the kettlebell to the shoulders before lifting it above the head, and the snatch requiring the competitor to lift the weight straight from the floor to above the shoulders.

The sport has become popular recently in the United States because of how quickly it can build strength and endurance.

And the reason Jodrey decided to enter Mullaney in two amateur events and one professional event at the United States Kettlebell Championship was because of her rapid development at the RKC.

“I noticed that aptitude, determination and fire in her,” Jodrey said. “So I thought she should give (the competition) a try and entered her as a professional just to see how she would do.”

Mullaney validated the coach’s belief in her by defeating defending world champion Ashley Hughes in the professional one-arm long-cycle lifting event.

Mullaney lifted a 35-pound weight 143 times in 10 minutes to defeat Hughes and her 136 repetitions.

“She was very surprised but just ecstatic,” Jodrey said of Mullaney. “And so many people in the crowd told her how inspirational it was to see her do that considering she’s a wife and mother. She worked extremely hard and deserved to win.”

Mullaney also impressed in the two amateur events her coach entered her in, lifting a 26-pound weight 264 times in the one-armed jerk and 199 times in the snatch to emerge victorious in both 10-minute events.