Britain’s strongest schoolboy, 10, reveals he started learning weightlifting techniques when he was 1 – lifting the This Morning bench live on TV

A 10-year-old boy who has been dubbed ‘Britain’s strongest schoolboy’ has shown off his skills by lifting a sofa – while someone was sitting on it – on This Morning.

Rowan O’Malley, from Coventry, appeared on the ITV show with his parents Gemma and Ben to discuss his weightlifting prowess with hosts Rochelle Humes and Josie Gibson.

The extra strong kid – who weighs 8½ stone (54 kg) – made headlines in March when he revealed he could deadlift 115 kg (253 lbs) and squat 100 kg (220 lbs).

After showing an interest in the sport at a young age and learning weightlifting techniques at the tender age of one, he later realized that he was stronger than most kids his age. Since then he has broken no less than eight world records abroad.

Today, viewers were intrigued to see him effortlessly lift a guest bench from This Morning, while celebrity chef Phil Vickery sat on it – who was visibly stunned by the attempt.

Rowan appeared on the ITV show with his parents Gemma and Ben to discuss his weightlifting prowess with hosts Rochelle Humes and Josie Gibson (both left in picture). Viewers were intrigued to see him effortlessly lift a This Morning guest coach while celebrity chef Phil Vickery (pictured center) sat on it

Rowan told the hosts, “(When I was one) I started with no weights, just the techniques so I could know what I was doing first.

“I started because my parents hosted fitness events and my dad worked with someone with a brain injury and they used the gym for rehabilitation, so I always grew up in a gym environment.”

So impressed was Rochelle – who joked that her kids aren’t nearly as fit as Rowan – she wondered how old he was when he first took the sport ‘seriously’.

“It was like the beginning of last year. I was competing in my gym,” he replied.

“And I deadlifted the world record for a 10-year-old and I was nine, and that’s when things started to get a little serious for the first time.”

The disciplined schoolboy trains ‘two to three times a week’ and sticks to a strict protein diet of 3,000 calories a day, despite boys his age being advised by the NHS to eat around 2,000 daily.

On a typical day, he eats three servings of scrambled eggs for breakfast and steak or fish for dinner. His parents also make sure he gets a good night’s sleep every day.

Although referred to as the strongest in the country, Rowan is actually banned from participating in the sport in the UK as the official age for competitors starts at 12 years old.

His parents Ben and Gemma said they are “proud” of their son who has a “desire to win and do well” (Ben and Gemma O’Malley are pictured next to their son)

Instead, he has taken his super strength to Arizona in the US, where he regularly competes and has won a whopping eight world titles.

The journey has been grueling both physically and financially, with father Ben revealing that they have taken on money and sponsorship to travel abroad so that Rowan can perform in a professional setting.

Both Ben and Gemma say they are ‘proud’ of their son who has a ‘desire to win and do well’. They say it’s as much about discipline as it is about lifting.

The boy says it is “amazing” to officially hold the world record for the “strongest 10-year-old athlete under 56 kg of all time” and that he has never been hurt or injured.

Josie and Rochelle encouraged the youngster to try lifting a couch on live television, to which he happily agreed. Josie looked visibly frightened.

In an instant, Rowan lifts the couch to the surprise of the studio team, with Rochelle noting “he didn’t even break a sweat”

Next up for Rowan is rugby, where he will make use of his super strength.