The Dunedin powerlifter won gold at the Women’s World Classic Masters Powerlifting Championships in Mongolia.
She lifted 85kg in the Masters 1 under-57kg bench press to win gold and placed sixth in her division overall.
"Awesome. I feel amazing," Jeffery said when asked how she felt about her medal.
"I worked really, really hard, so I guess it’s just recognition for how hard we’ve worked."
She was in good company too, alongside fellow Dunedin lifter Tracy Chipping who won gold in three disciplines.
Chipping lifted 72.5kg in the bench press, squatted 137.5kg and dead lifted 160.5kg in the Masters 3 under-84kg division to secure the titles.
"It was awesome," Jeffery said.
"Tracy and I are both part of the Southern Powerlifting club.
"We’ve got the smallest club in New Zealand as far as I’m aware, so it was really cool to have both of us there."
Jeffery started powerlifting in 2018, setting herself a goal of one day competing on the world stage — "it’s been a long time" — and started out training with Mike Spencer at Valley Strength and Conditioning before shifting to the Olympic Gym in Mosgiel.
She trained three hours a day, four days a week, under her new coach Jason Clarke, of Auckland.
"That’s why it felt so good to take [gold] because of the amount of work and dedication that we’ve put in."
She competed in provincial, South Island and national competitions before competing in the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in Auckland last year.
It was an "awesome" taste of an international event before the world championships and allowed her to test herself against more athletes, as there were not many in her weight class in New Zealand.
"With the international competitions ... it’s just a lot more satisfying when you do well and you’ve competed against more people."
She planned to take a small break from lifting when she returned home and a little bit of cardio was on the cards instead.
"We’re not allowed to do any cardio, so I might go home and go for a run," she laughed.
