Early Female Powerlifting in Australia
Margaret Court
Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 maj ...
was known by the British press as the 'Australian Amazon." She was one of the first Australian women to encourage women to integrate weightlifting into their training regime for other sports like tennis.
Bodybuilding was introduced to Australia in 1981. The sport came over because of American influence.
During the 1980s and 1990s, women's powerlifting saw a large expansion in the number of competitors.
Interest in the sport increased as women started adding resistance work to their regular work outs.
[ There was crossover with other sports. Australian Commonwealth Games competitors and Australians Olympians who took up the sport include ]Bev Francis
Beverley "Bev" Francis (born 15 February 1955) is an Australian gym owner and retired professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, and national shot put champion.
Early life
Beverley Francis was born on 15 February 1955 in Geelong, Vi ...
, a shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
ter and javelin
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...
thrower.[
The first Australian woman to set a world record in ]powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...
was Jill Bamborough. She did this in 1978 in the bantam weight when she lifted .[ A famous Australian powerlifter was Robin Weckert. She competed in the class.][ Australia has had several world champion powerlifters including Heidi Wittisch in the class at the 1988 world champions. That same year, Marilyn Wallen in the class and ]Gael Martin
Gael Patricia Mulhall-Martin (born 27 August 1956) is a former Australian athlete who competed in the shot put and in the discus throw at the Olympic level and also had a career in powerlifting.
Athletics
Born in Melbourne, Mulhall-Martin is ...
in the class won silver medals.[
]Bev Francis
Beverley "Bev" Francis (born 15 February 1955) is an Australian gym owner and retired professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, and national shot put champion.
Early life
Beverley Francis was born on 15 February 1955 in Geelong, Vi ...
is an Australian powerlifter who has faced discrimination in the sport as a result of her body type. Critics had harsh things to state about the amount of muscle mass she possessed, claiming that she had too much muscle. Some of her critics taunted her at powerlifting events by calling her a freak.[
In 1984, there were 257 junior female members of the Australian Amateur Weightlifting Federation.]
Modern Female Powerlifting in Australia
Participation Rates
In 2022, there were 1,517 women recorded as having competed in at least one powerlifting competition that year.
IPF World Record Holders
The IPF is the GAISF
Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...
-recognised international powerlifting umbrella body, with the Australian Powerlifting Union operating as the national federation. As of June 2023, the following IPF World Records are held by Australian lifters:
*Bethany Parker - Sub-Junior Women -84kg Classic Division Squat (182.5kg)
References
Bibliography
*
{{Women's sport in Australia
Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...
Powerlifting
Weightlifting in Australia