A NEW training facility in Westbury got off to the perfect start thanks to the help of a British Olympic weightlifter who was guest of honour at the opening on Sunday.

Olympian Sonny Webster heralded the start of a new era for Ironworx, at the Westbury Industrial Estate, when he opened the 4,000 sq ft facility, which is run by head coach and director Lee Salter.

The 23-year-old showed off his lifting prowess and answered questions about his career, nutrition and weightlifting from the dozens of eager attendees.

Mr Salter praised the former Commonwealth Youth Weightlifting champion for his help and for inspiring others to join the facility, which will offer Crossfit, Strongman, powerlifting, an open gym, high-intensity training and more.

“It was just the perfect way to start this new adventure. Sonny is a wonderful, down-to-earth guy, who has a very bright future ahead of him and me and Rosie Semenytsh, who runs Ironworx with me, are so grateful for his help,” he said.

“I was very anxious about the opening and stayed up to the early hours of Sunday to get everything sorted but it just ran beautifully.

“We have got 15 inductions sorted for the next week or so, which is fantastic and, again, part of that is down to Sonny. Everyone was in awe of what he could do. People are impressed with what we, the coaches, can do but he is on a different level.

“He said he would love to come back and help out more often, which is great. He was also very complimentary about the facility we have here, which is good to hear because we have put so much effort into turning this five-year project into a reality.

“I was so happy with the numbers that turned up and how enthusiastic people were – I really believe we have a bright future ahead of us.”

Mr Salter said he was excited to be offering something new that would suit all abilities.

“This type of strength and conditioning facility is something that locally we have very limited access to. Our ethos is to get people enjoying training, from regular day-to-day gym goers to potential sports stars and elite level athletes,” he said.

“The new facility includes some of the best equipment on the market supplied by the likes of Keiser, Bulldog Gear and Eleiko. It is very exciting.”