This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating strong women who broke barriers in the powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, and bodybuilding worlds over the past few decades.
After checking out Muscle & Fitness’ Strongest Men to Ever Walk the Earth, we wanted to feature some of the strongest women in history. So we picked the brains of staffers at Men’s Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Muscle & Fitness Hers, and Flex to gather up their list of the strongest women who ever walked the earth. Read about these tough-as-nails women—listed in no particular order—who paved the way for the CrossFitting, bodybuilding, powerlifting women of today.
The 10 strongest women of all time
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Courtesy of The Stark Center
Abbye ‘Pudgy’ Stockton
Born: August 11, 1917 in CaliforniaDied: June 26, 2006Accomplishments: Abbye “Pudgy” Stockton performed in a hand-balancing act with her husband and a friend that toured around the Los Angeles area, a routine that required the 5’2, 115-pound Stockton to hold her husband straight above her head in adjoining handstands for extended periods of time. “Pudgy” was such a pioneer in the world of women’s weightlifting that she even earned a second nickname, “The Queen of Muscle Beach.” Stockton wrote a monthly column for Strength and Health called “Barbelles” back in 1944, giving advice and encouragement to other women who wanted to learn weight training. She inspired women to be fit at a time when it was common belief that lifting weights would make women masculine.
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Courtesy of Bev Francis
Bev Francis
Born: February 15, 1955 in Geelong, AustraliaAccomplishments: Bev Francis started as a member of the Australian track and field team from 1977-1982 (excluding 1980 due to a knee injury), competing in shot put, discus, and javelin. She later went into the sport of powerlifting, and lifted her way to consecutive World Powerlifting Champion titles from 1980-1985. She has broken more than 40 world powerlifting records, and is undefeated in her career as a competitor. Most notably, she was the first woman to bench 300 pounds. Her PRs are: squat 500 pounds, bench press 335 pounds, and deadlift 501 pounds.
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Getty Images/David Ramos
Chen Wei Ling
Born: January 4, 1982 Tainan, TaiwanAccomplishments: How’s this: Chen Wei Ling can lift over three times her body weight. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The 101-pound weightlifter also set the world record in the squat and deadlift while competing in the 2009 World Games. She deadlifted 430 pounds and squatted 457 pounds, securing her a first-place finish at the World Games.
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Flex Magazine
Iris Kyle
Born: August 22, 1974 in MichiganAccomplishments: Iris Kyle has dominated bodybuilding since her first overall Ms. Olympia win in 2004. Kyle went on to win the competition each year from 2006 through 2014, which makes her the bodybuilder with the most Olympia wins—beating out all of other male and female competitors. Her long list of wins alone earns her a spot on this list.
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Courtesy of Artur Andrzej
Aneta Florczyk
Born: February 26, 1982 in Malbork, PolandAccomplishments: Aneta Florczyk started her career in powerlifting at age 16. In addition to earning the title of Europe’s Strongest Woman in 2004, she was also named World’s Champion and World’s Strongest Woman in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008. She’s won the competition more than any other woman in history, according to Guinness World Records. In addition to this world record, Florczyk also holds a Guinness World Record in lifting up adult men overhead (that would be 12 men in two minutes).
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Getty Images/Jamie Squire
Tatiana Kashirina
Born: January 24, 1991 in Noginsk, RussiaAccomplishments: Tatiana Kashirina took top spot in the 2014 World Weightlifting championship and now holds five new world records. She has been able to complete a 341 pound snatch, which broke her own previous record from the 2012 Olympics in London. Her highest weight for the clean and jerk was approximately 425 pounds, surpassing Chinese weightlifter Lulu Zhou’s record.
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Shutterstock
Robin “Helga” Coleman
Born: March 30, 1973 in TexasAccomplishments: Robin Coleman has a diverse fitness background, including a history in both figure and strongwoman competitions. In addition to these, she appeared on American Gladiators as “Helga” in 2008. While Coleman was competing in a 2001 strongwoman contest, she crushed the competition in an event where the challenge was to squat a car as many times as possible. She completed 15 reps, while many couldn’t lift it once. (The closest person to Coleman’s score was Jill Mills, with eight reps).
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Courtesy of Becca Swanson
Becca Swanson
Born: November 20, 1973 in NebraskaAccomplishments: Aptly nicknamed “The Strongest Woman in the World,” Becca Swanson started competing in strongwomen competitions in 2002. She’s currently the only woman to squat more than 800 pounds. In 2006, Swanson weighed in at 197 pounds and squatted 804.7 pounds, which was four times her body weight at the time.
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Courtesy of Jan Todd
Jan Todd
Born: May 22, 1952 in PennsylvaniaAccomplishments: Jan Todd got into the sport of powerlifting in 1973 after marrying Dr. Terry Todd, the United States’ first powerlifting champion. It was at Jan Todd’s first competition in 1975 that she set her first Guinness World Record, which has stood half a century: 394 pounds in the two-hand deadlift. The following year, she was the first woman to exceed 400 pounds in any powerlift with a deadlift of 412 pounds. She was also the first woman to total over 1,200 pounds in the three powerlifts (squat, bench, and dead lift). Sports Illustrated once named her the strongest woman in the world.
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Courtesy of Jill Mills
Jill Mills
Born: March 2, 1972 in NebraskaAccomplishments: Jill Mills holds the titles of World Champion Powerlifter and World Champion Strongwoman. Her most notable accomplishment in the strongwoman competition has actually been winning the World’s Strongest Woman contests in 2001 and 2002, and finishing third in 2005.
Accomplishments: Abbye “Pudgy” Stockton performed in a hand-balancing act with her husband and a friend that toured around the Los Angeles area, a routine that required the 5’2, 115-pound Stockton to hold her husband straight above her head in adjoining handstands for extended periods of time. “Pudgy” was such a pioneer in the world of women’s weightlifting that she even earned a second nickname, “The Queen of Muscle Beach.” Stockton wrote a monthly column for Strength and Health called “Barbelles” back in 1944, giving advice and encouragement to other women who wanted to learn weight training. She inspired women to be fit at a time when it was common belief that lifting weights would make women masculine.
Bev Francis
Born: February 15, 1955 in Geelong, Australia
Accomplishments: Bev Francis started as a member of the Australian track and field team from 1977-1982 (excluding 1980 due to a knee injury), competing in shot put, discus, and javelin. She later went into the sport of powerlifting, and lifted her way to consecutive World Powerlifting Champion titles from 1980-1985. She has broken more than 40 world powerlifting records, and is undefeated in her career as a competitor. Most notably, she was the first woman to bench 300 pounds. Her PRs are: squat 500 pounds, bench press 335 pounds, and deadlift 501 pounds.
Chen Wei Ling
Born: January 4, 1982 Tainan, Taiwan
Accomplishments: How’s this: Chen Wei Ling can lift over three times her body weight. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The 101-pound weightlifter also set the world record in the squat and deadlift while competing in the 2009 World Games. She deadlifted 430 pounds and squatted 457 pounds, securing her a first-place finish at the World Games.
Iris Kyle
Born: August 22, 1974 in Michigan
Accomplishments: Iris Kyle has dominated bodybuilding since her first overall Ms. Olympia win in 2004. Kyle went on to win the competition each year from 2006 through 2014, which makes her the bodybuilder with the most Olympia wins—beating out all of other male and female competitors. Her long list of wins alone earns her a spot on this list.
Aneta Florczyk
Born: February 26, 1982 in Malbork, Poland
Accomplishments: Aneta Florczyk started her career in powerlifting at age 16. In addition to earning the title of Europe’s Strongest Woman in 2004, she was also named World’s Champion and World’s Strongest Woman in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008. She’s won the competition more than any other woman in history, according to Guinness World Records. In addition to this world record, Florczyk also holds a Guinness World Record in lifting up adult men overhead (that would be 12 men in two minutes).
Tatiana Kashirina
Born: January 24, 1991 in Noginsk, Russia
Accomplishments: Tatiana Kashirina took top spot in the 2014 World Weightlifting championship and now holds five new world records. She has been able to complete a 341 pound snatch, which broke her own previous record from the 2012 Olympics in London. Her highest weight for the clean and jerk was approximately 425 pounds, surpassing Chinese weightlifter Lulu Zhou’s record.
Robin "Helga" Coleman
Born: March 30, 1973 in Texas
Accomplishments: Robin Coleman has a diverse fitness background, including a history in both figure and strongwoman competitions. In addition to these, she appeared on American Gladiators as “Helga” in 2008. While Coleman was competing in a 2001 strongwoman contest, she crushed the competition in an event where the challenge was to squat a car as many times as possible. She completed 15 reps, while many couldn’t lift it once. (The closest person to Coleman’s score was Jill Mills, with eight reps).
Becca Swanson
Born: November 20, 1973 in Nebraska
Accomplishments: Aptly nicknamed “The Strongest Woman in the World,” Becca Swanson started competing in strongwomen competitions in 2002. She’s currently the only woman to squat more than 800 pounds. In 2006, Swanson weighed in at 197 pounds and squatted 804.7 pounds, which was four times her body weight at the time.
Jan Todd
Born: May 22, 1952 in Pennsylvania
Accomplishments: Jan Todd got into the sport of powerlifting in 1973 after marrying Dr. Terry Todd, the United States’ first powerlifting champion. It was at Jan Todd’s first competition in 1975 that she set her first Guinness World Record, which has stood half a century: 394 pounds in the two-hand deadlift. The following year, she was the first woman to exceed 400 pounds in any powerlift with a deadlift of 412 pounds. She was also the first woman to total over 1,200 pounds in the three powerlifts (squat, bench, and dead lift). Sports Illustrated once named her the strongest woman in the world.
Jill Mills
Born: March 2, 1972 in Nebraska
Accomplishments: Jill Mills holds the titles of World Champion Powerlifter and World Champion Strongwoman. Her most notable accomplishment in the strongwoman competition has actually been winning the World’s Strongest Woman contests in 2001 and 2002, and finishing third in 2005.
