HER last name might be Silver but Valerie was going for gold and flying the flag for females in the festival's strength competition.
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Not limited by her age or gender, the 73-year-old from Brisbane has been pumping iron in competitions around the world for more than five years and drew crowds of people on Sunday for the Tamworth's Strongest competition.
As a child Ms Silver graced the stage as a ballerina and padded up on the cricket pitch before making the switch to weight lifting later in life.
"I've always wanted to lift weights," she said after she pumped out nine 80 kilogram deadlifts in one minute.
The competition is also a chance for the weightlifter to push the boundaries on what is traditionally expected of women.
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"Don't let them say to you your use by date is when you're no longer sexually desirable and you can't have babies," she said.
Ms Silver said she was horrified by the lack of female inclusion in the sport.
"They didn't even have Olympic weightlifting for women until 2000, that's disgusting," she said.
"Who said we couldn't do that?"
Ms Silver was just one of 25 competitors who took to Peel Street on Sunday to flex some muscle.
The Tamworth competition is one of Ms Silver's favourites due to the 60 plus category.
"It's amazing," she said.
"Every where else I have to mix it with the 40-year-olds."
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