Becca Swanson, 5’10” and 258 lbs. / Instagram
Who is the strongest woman in the world ever? What’s the top 10? We asked the artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT to sort it all out and list, in order, the top 10 strongest women of all time. Let’s see what A.I. said. All of the following text with a pink background was written by ChatGPT.
Determining the “strongest woman ever” can be subjective due to different strength metrics and accomplishments across various strength sports. However, several women have made extraordinary achievements in strength-based competitions. Some notable names include:
1. BECCA SWANSON
Known for her incredible powerlifting records. She was the first woman to squat over 800 pounds and the only woman to total over 2000 pounds in a multi-ply powerlifting meet.
Becca Swanson is a huge woman who has lifted huge weights. In powerlifting meets in 2005 and 2008, at 5’10” and around 250 pounds, she squatted 854.3 pounds (387.5 kg.), bench pressed 600.8 pounds (272.5 kg.), deadlifted 694.4 pounds (315.0 kg.), and totalled 2,050 pounds (930 kg.), which were all equipped world records. The deadlift and total records still stand today.
2. LARYSA SOLOVIOVA
A Ukrainian strongwoman and powerlifter known for her exceptional feats in various strength competitions.
Larysa Soloviova is pound-for-pound one of the strongest women in the world. She’s a six-time powerlifting world champion and holder of a world record 530-pound (241 kg.) equipped squat while competing in the 63 kg. (138.6 pound) division.
3. RHIANON LOVELACE
A British strongwoman who has made remarkable accomplishments in the field of strength sports.
Rhianon Lovelace is another pound-for-pound powerhouse. Weighing in at 62.5 kg. (137 pounds) last year, she pulled a 282.5 kg. deadlift (623 pounds), which is over 4.5 times her bodyweight and a world record in three weight divisions (hers and the two next heaviest).
4. JILL MILLS
Renowned for her successes in strongwoman competitions, including multiple World’s Strongest Woman titles.
The 5’4″ Jill Mills won the World’s Strongest Woman in 2001 and 2002 and the 82.5 kg. (182 pound) division of the 2003 equipped World Powerlifting Championships.
5. ZHOU LULU
An incredibly strong weightlifter from China, known for her world records in the super heavyweight category.
Super-heavyweight Zhou Lulu (5’9″ 309 pounds) won the weightlifting gold medal and set world records at the 2012 Olympics. However, those records have since been broken. Li Wenwen (5’10” 331 pounds) won the super-heavy gold medal at the 2020 Olympics and currently holds the weightlifting world records for a woman of any weight in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total.
6. IRENE ANDERSEN
Known for her achievements in bodybuilding and powerlifting, showcasing extraordinary strength.
Irene Andersen is a professional bodybuilder, who, when age 54 and 55, finished fifth in the 2020 and 2021 Ms. Olympias. Those are amazing feats, but she doesn’t belong on this list.
7. DONNA MOORE
A strongwoman from Scotland, multiple winner of the World’s Strongest Woman competition.
Donna Moore won the World’s Strongest Woman in 2016, 2017, and 2019. However, Poland’s Aneta Florczyk has more WSM titles (4): 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008.
8. KAITLYN VERA
Notable for her achievements in powerlifting and strongwoman competitions.
A.I. is confused. Kaitlyn Vera is an amateur bodybuilder. She doesn’t belong on this list.
9. ANDREA THOMPSON
A British strongwoman with remarkable strength accomplishments in various competitions.
Andrea Thompson set the women’s log lift world record, hoisting a 140 kg. (308.6 pounds) weight overhead.
10. KRISTIN RHODES
A dominant figure in strongwoman contests and strength-based sports, known for her exceptional strength and athleticism.
American Kristin Rhodes won a strongwoman world championships in 2012.
These women have demonstrated exceptional strength in various strength sports, setting records and achieving remarkable feats that solidify their places among the strongest women in the world.
STRONGEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD EVER: ANALYSIS
We have issues with Chat-GPT’s top 10. We agree with Becca Swanson as the #1 the strongest woman in the world ever. She was so far above the competition in powerlifting that there was no reason to go on winning titles and setting records, but she surely could have. Swanson may also have dominated the World’s Strongest Woman competition had she entered, but the WSW is not nearly as established as the World’s Strongest Man (of the 36 years since its inception in 1997, it wasn’t even held in 10 of those years). Though her biggest lifts were equipped (meaning she wore a multi-ply powerlifting suit), it’s debatable how much this helped in the deadlift, and Swanson pulled nearly 700 pounds, much more than any woman has done since.
However, we also need to acknowledge current super-heavy, unequipped champ, Tamara Walcott, who last year squatted 600.7 pounds, bench pressed 380.3 pounds, and deadlifted 639.3 pounds for the women’s raw (without a multi-ply powerlifting suit) world record total of 1,620.4 pounds (737 kg.).
Unlike its strongest man ever list, Chat-GPT gives credence to pound-for-pound strong women, i.e. lighter women who lift multiples of their bodyweight. That’s true of powerlifters Larysa Soloviova (#2) and Rhiannon Lovelace (#3). We don’t have an issue with this. Pound-for-pound (or kilo-for-kilo) is a valid way to define “strongest.” However, three other names to consider are 123-pound Marianna Gasparyan and 112-pound Stephanie Cohen, both of whom totalled more than 10 times their bodyweight in raw with wraps powerlifting meets (Gasparyan was a mere 7 pounds away from totalling 11x her bodyweight!), and 163-pound Kristy Hawkens, who nearly did so at a higher bodyweight.
Also unlike its strongest man ever list, A.I. has excluded those who performed their greatest feats before the 21st century. We would argue for the inclusion of women’s powerlifting pioneer Jan Todd, the first woman to officially deadlift 400 pounds and squat 500 pounds, marks that were achieved in the 1970s. Todd was listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the world’s strongest woman for more than a decade. Because such factors as training, diet, drugs, equipment, and clothing have improved over the past half-century, it’s difficult to say what Todd could have achieved if she’d been born 50 years later.
We’d definitely drop the two bodybuilders, Irene Andersen and Kaitlyn Vera; and we’d replace Zhou Lulu with Li Wenwen.
Ultimately, here’s our better top five:
STRONGEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD EVER
1. Becca Swanson (strongest female powerlifter)
2. Tamara Walcott (strongest raw female powerlifter)
3. Li Wenwen (strongest female weightlifter)
4. Marianna Gasparyan (pound-for-pound strongest female powerlifter)
5. Aneta Florczyk (World’s Strongest Woman a record four times)
Related content:
Strongest Man Ever: Top 10, Ranked by A.I.
