By: Kalle Beck

The Strongest Woman in the World competitors finished day one with the Deadlift Medley.

Lightweights

The Deadlift Medley proved to be a burner. It was a test of muscular endurance, and a test of who could get into the right groove on the short range of motion with the frame deadlift. Catherine Medeiros was the first athlete to hit 20 reps, which held until Cynthia McCright put up a big 27 reps to take first in the event. Jessica Kite and Leslie Hofheins were rep-for-rep until Hofheins pulled away slightly to end up with 24 reps and second place, Kite hit 21 reps for third in the event.

Middleweights

Kristin Johnson hit 21 reps to take the early lead, before Danielle Schwalbe and Kaitlin Burgess. Schwalbe faded a bit towards to end with 19 reps, good for fifth in the event. Burgess hit 24 to take the lead. The last heat of the day was between Liefia Ingalls and Kimberly Lawrance, who were both neck-and-neck heading to the frame. Lawrance took the early lead on the frame deadlift as Ingalls had some trouble getting her straps on. Surprisingly, she still managed to pull 24 reps to tie Burgess. Lawrance took the event win with 26 reps, putting the top three separated by just 0.2 points heading into day two.

Heavyweights

In the heavyweights, 10 and 11 seemed to be the wall for most competitors. That was until Julie Rader hit 14, which would be good for second place in the event. Becoming the norm, Brooke Sousa and Britteny Cornelius were the final two competitors to go. Sousa managed 12 reps for third in the event, and Cornelius dug deep for the final few reps, ending with 16 reps to best Rader's 14. This was another first place finish for her.


Photo Credit: Kimberly Lawrance (@prostrongwoman_kimberlyl)