Karenjeet Kaur Bains, one of the stars of the new BBC1 Gladiators series, is a force to be reckoned with both in and out of the arena. Taking on the role of Athena, named after the Goddess of War and Wisdom, she is a woman on a mission, representing all those from diverse and minority backgrounds. Want to know more? Well here are the top 5 facts you need to know about Karenjeet Kaur ‘Athena’ Bains.
1. She’s already a social media star
Karenjeet has got a pretty impressive following of over 30k on her personal Instagram account @karenjeet_bains, and her new Gladiators account @athenathegladiator is already up to 1500 followers and growing by the day.
The powerlifter has built her following with inspiring and motivational content designed to help women build their strength and focus on getting strong not skinny. She’s also got over 13k followers on TikTok where she shares the same message.
2. She was born into a sporting family
Born in Warwickshire on July 23, 1996, there’s a good chance Karenjeet’s athletic journey was influenced by her family’s strong sporting background. See, her mother’s family were wrestlers, and her father was a former bodybuilder and powerlifter, so she was exposed to that world from an early age.
3. She’s an award-winning powerlifter
Karenjeet has won 3 Gold and 2 Silver Commonwealth Powerlifting medals while representing Team GB. She’s also 5-time All England Powerlifting champion and 5-time British Powerlifting champion. Oh, and she holds the Guiness World Record for the most bodyweight squats performed in 1 minute.
4. She’s an online fitness coach
Outside of her own powerlifting journey Karenjeet works as an online fitness coach, inspiring and supporting other women on their own fitness journeys.
5. She’s the first Sikh Gladiator
Athena is the first Sikh Gladiator to appear on the show and she’s keen to make the most of the opportunity to be a role model and show people from diverse backgrounds, especially women, what they can achieve.
Learn more about other gladiators: 5 Facts About Gladiators Star Alex ‘Apollo’ Gray and 5 Facts About Gladiators Star Zack ‘Steel’ George
