N.B. scientist by day, powerlifter by night. Meet Danielle Philibert

Danielle Philibert spends her days studying marine species in the Bay of Fundy.

When she's not working, though, she lifts weights, and her muscles earned her two medals at the World Open Classic Powerlifting Championship in South Africa this spring.

A toxicologist at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews, N.B., the 29-year-old spends several hours a week training as a powerlifter.

When she started her PhD almost seven years ago, Philibert was just looking for a physical activity that could balance out the computer work she was doing.

"I found that focusing too much energy on work was really taking a toll on my personal balance and feeling fulfilled," she said.

She went to the gym with no real plan, just lifting for fun. But one day, she decided to max out her lifts, just to see how far she could go, and realized she was stronger than she thought.

That was when she decided to start powerlifting.

She signed up for her first competition in 2016, again with no real plan or even a coach. From the first moment she stepped on the platform, though, she said she was hooked.

"It's been this journey of constantly adding weight to the bar, learning to improve my efficiency with the movement, and over time, I've slowly gotten stronger and stronger," she said.

Philibert won the national championship in 2020 and broke records. She has the national squatting record of 208 kilograms and the national record bench press of 123 kilograms.

She's been to the world championship three times, an impressive feat given Canada can only send eight athletes to compete across all categories.

Since COVID-19 disrupted the competition schedule, Philibert also competed at the world championship in Sweden last fall. She called it a rough meet, where she didn't medal.

"I was kind of left hungry for more, so I knew this training cycle leading up to South Africa, I wanted my redemption," she said.

When the day came, Philibert wasn't feeling that strong — the travel had worn her down — but she said she knew if she gave it her all, she would at least be a contender for bronze.