Who Is the Strongest Woman in the World

Asking who the strongest woman in the world is sounds simple, but the answer depends on how you measure strength. Three separate sports have a claim to the title — strongman, powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting — and a different person sits at the top of each. Here are the names, the actual numbers, and the small part of it that applies to your own training.

Why there is no single name

Strength is not one quality. Maximal force in a single slow lift (deadlift), repeated force under fatigue across five events in one day (strongman) and explosive force in a lift that takes under a second (snatch and clean and jerk) are three different things. On top of that, three filters change every record list:

• Weight classes. Open class means the biggest numbers usually come from competitors weighing 90–160 kg.
• Equipment. Strongman allows straps and a deadlift suit; raw powerlifting allows nothing beyond a belt and knee sleeves.
• Drug testing. Some federations test, some do not. Untested records tend to be higher and are not comparable to tested ones.

So the question has at least four reasonable answers, not one.

Strongman: the World's Strongest Woman title

If by strongest you mean the person who literally holds the title, that is the World's Strongest Woman contest. Over the past decade the top has been shared mostly by British athletes: Donna Moore (2016 and 2017), Andrea Thompson (2018 and 2019) and Rebecca Roberts (2021 and 2022), with Lucy Underdown dominating the more recent editions. Olga Liashchuk, Inez Carrasquillo and Victoria Long are regular fixtures near the top as well.

The numbers at that level look like this: log press overhead of 100–115 kg, atlas stones of 100 to 130 kg loaded to a platform, farmer's walk with roughly 100 kg per hand over 20 metres, and a yoke over 300 kg. Underdown is the first woman to pull more than 300 kg in competition — around 305 kg, under strongman rules that permit straps and a suit. The key difference from the other sports: it all happens in one day, across five or six events, with only a few minutes of rest.

Powerlifting: the biggest raw total

Here what counts is the sum of three lifts — squat, bench press and deadlift. In untested federations the best known name is Tamara Walcott, with a deadlift close to 290 kg without straps and a total above 600 kg. In tested powerlifting, Sonita Muluh leads the open class with a squat around 270 kg and a total over 650 kg.

This is the cleanest answer to who moves the most weight without supportive gear, because the rules are strict: squat depth is judged, the bar has to pause on the chest, and the deadlift is pulled bare-handed.

Weightlifting: the most explosive

China's Li Wenwen is the Olympic champion in the heaviest class and holds world records of roughly 148 kg in the snatch, 187 kg in the clean and jerk, and 335 kg in the total. The numbers are smaller than a deadlift record, but the quality is different: a 187 kg clean and jerk travels from the floor to overhead in under a second. Measured in watts of power output, that is about the fastest force a human can produce with a barbell.

And who is strongest pound for pound

Everything above is an absolute record in an open class. If you compare strength to body mass, the lighter classes win: competitors at 52 to 63 kg squat over 2.5 times bodyweight and deadlift close to 3 times bodyweight. A 57 kg lifter pulling 200 kg is moving 3.5 times her bodyweight — no open-class athlete comes near that ratio. Federations use coefficients (DOTS, GL) to compare across classes, and the list of names changes completely once you do.

What any of this means for your training

The method is surprisingly ordinary. These women do the same lifts you do, just for longer and with better organisation — usually 10 to 15 years of uninterrupted training.

• Main work: 3–5 sets of 3–6 reps at 80–90% of your one-rep max, 2–4 times per week per lift.
• Rest: 3–5 minutes between heavy sets. Shorter rest cuts the weight on the bar, and strength is built by the weight.
• Progression: in the first year, adding about 2.5 kg per week to the squat and deadlift and 1–1.25 kg to the press is realistic. After that the rate slows down, and that is normal.
• Food: 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day, with enough total calories. Strength stalls in a deficit.
• Recovery: 7–9 hours of sleep and one lighter week (a deload) every 4–8 weeks.

A realistic target for most women after two to three years of serious training: squat 1.25–1.5 times bodyweight, deadlift 1.5–2 times bodyweight, bench press 0.7–1 times bodyweight. That already puts you well above average and has nothing to do with the competitive top.

When to see a doctor

Heavy training is safe for most healthy people, but these are not things to wait out:

• Chest pain, fainting or breathlessness out of proportion to the set — urgent.
• Dark tea-coloured urine with severe pain and swelling 24–72 hours after a very hard session (possible rhabdomyolysis) — urgent.
• Three consecutive missed menstrual cycles in a training woman — often a sign of low energy availability; get it checked with bloodwork.
• Numbness, weakness or pain radiating down an arm or leg after lifting.
• A bulge in the groin or around the navel that appears when you strain (possible hernia).
• Resting blood pressure consistently above 140/90 — check it before attempting maximal lifts.
• Joint or back pain lasting more than two weeks, or waking you at night.

The short version

• There is no single strongest woman — the title belongs to different athletes in strongman, powerlifting and weightlifting.
• The World's Strongest Woman title has been dominated by British athletes; Lucy Underdown was the first to pull over 300 kg (around 305 kg).
• In raw powerlifting the leaders are Tamara Walcott (deadlift near 290 kg) and Sonita Muluh (total over 650 kg).
• Li Wenwen, with a 187 kg clean and jerk and a 335 kg total, represents the most explosive version of strength.
• The method is the same for everyone: 3–5 sets of 3–6 reps at 80–90%, 1.6–2.2 g protein per kg, 7–9 hours of sleep, and years of patience.