Courtesy of George Marts

Ireland, a Seattle resident, is a retired Washington Supreme Court justice who turned to powerlifting to heal herself from chronic pain and went on to become the gold medalist in her age and weight class. She’ll joke that it’s “not a big deal” because “anyone in my age group is not in my weight group, so I’m usually competing against myself…. But I’m going for records.”

And she’s getting them. In October 2007, at the International Powerlifting Federation World Masters, held in Ostrava, Czech Republic, she broke all the American records for women ages 65-69 — bench press (132 pounds), dead lift (265 pounds), squat (225 pounds), and a total score of 621. Since she had turned 65 the month before, it was the first time she had competed in that age group. (Click here to watch a great YouTube video of Faith at this meet.)

She was back at it again in February 2008, at the Women’s Nationals, this time breaking three of her four records and placing first (and only) in her age. She benched 143.5 pounds and dead-lifted 270 pounds; her squat of 220 pounds was not a record, but it contributed to her record-breaking total of 633.50. She’s hoping those numbers will land her on the world team. If so, she’ll be competing at the IPF World Masters this October in Palm Springs, Calif.

The higher numbers she achieved in February are “pure joy.” “At this point in my development as a powerlifter, if I can increase by 5 pounds in competition, that’s a pretty big deal for me,” she said.

At 5 foot 3¼ inches and around 132 pounds, Ireland has been competing since 1999. She has medaled in numerous state and national events since then. She took a bronze in the IPF World Masters Benchpress Championships in 2003 and a silver in the IPF World Masters in 2004, and set records at the 2007 Women’s Nationals. She says the competition is tougher at the world events because the highest women’s age category is “50 and over,” so she’s competing with younger women. But she still out-lifted them.

The retired judge says she never imagined this is where life would take her. “It’s mind blowing,” she said. “The very notion of being an athlete at all is pretty extraordinary.”

All this comes on the heels of an extraordinary career. After graduating from law school in 1969, she broke into a male-dominated field and practiced law until 1983, when she was appointed to fill a vacancy on the King County (Washington) Superior Court. She remained in that position for 15 years before winning a seat on the state Supreme Court.

Two weeks after her appointment in 1983, however, she suffered a severe neck and back injury in a car accident. Two weeks after that, she learned she was pregnant. Chronic pain and 30 extra pounds would stay with her for the next 15 years. Having a “sedentary job” didn’t help.

After hearing of someone who had overcome pain by weightlifting, she started going to a gym. At the time, she was on the supreme court, commuting to Olympia, 60 miles away and training at home.

“I needed to do it,” she said, about training while maintaining a hectic work schedule. “I needed the release valve of the lifting. It helped keep me focused and centered and helped my concentration.” While she said she had relief from the pain in six weeks, “it took a couple of years before I could work out pain free.”

She decided to retire from the court in 2005 while she was still “on top” and could have a life that was “more in my control.”

“After 21 years in the judiciary, it was a great time to leave,” she said. “I’d be young enough to start another career.”

Now her weeks are busy running her business and training. She handles mediation, arbitration and legal consulting. Between her business and “all the boards and commissions I sit on,” she works full time. She trains three time a week around three hours at a time, with her team, the Seattle Strength and Power. And when asked, she does some public speaking.

In March, she received the 2008 Athlete of the Year award from the Washington State Powerlifting Hall of Fame “for a career that embodies the highest levels of integrity, sportsmanship, and character and for superior achievements in the sport of powerlifting.”

“It’s not just an athletic achievement,” she said. “That award is about helping others, too. It’s about encouraging and mentoring other people, being there when other people need you. It’s about being more than a lifter. I think they presented it to me … because of ways I’ve helped the sport — being available to help with meets, even when I’m not competing, to encourage people to get into the sport, to mentor people.”

Mentoring is something she benefited from and wants to pass on. She encourages women especially, who face issues of osteoporosis as they age, to take care of their bodies.

“One of the reasons why people can relate to my story is they think, ‘If she can do it, I can do it.’ Particularly when I was a justice, people said, ‘How does she get the time?’ Now that I’m retired, they say, ‘My goodness, how does she do this at her age?’ It’s never too late,” she insists, “and you’re never too busy.”