Judy Glenney (born March 15, 1949) is an American National Weightlifting Champion and former IWF referee and coach. She is noted for her influence as a pioneer in women's

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

. Glenney has been recognized as the strongest woman in history based on her accomplishments throughout her career in professional competitive powerlifting.

Lifting career

Judy began lifting unofficially against men in competitions coached by her husband Gary Glenney. She lifted in the first official American national women's meet held in 1981 in

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...

, overseen by

USA Weightlifting USA Weightlifting, otherwise known as USAW, is the national governing body overseeing the sport of weightlifting in the United States. USAW is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), responsible for conducting weightlifting programs ...

. Competing against 28 other competitors she achieved the title of best lifter and a gold. In the subsequent year she lifted a National record snatch.

Awards

* Gold – Woman's National Championships 1981 * Gold – Woman's National Championships 1982 * Gold – Woman's National Championships 1983 * Gold – Woman's National Championships 1984 * Silver – Senior National Championships 1988 * Bronze – Senior National Championships 1990 * Gold – Master's National Championships 1991 * Gold – Master's National Championships 1992 * Gold – Master's National Championships 1993 * Gold – Master's National Championships 1994 * Gold – Master's National Championships 1995 * Gold – World Master's Championships 1997 * Gold – World Masters Games 1998

Best Lifts

Clean and Jerk (Official): 97.5 kg, Snatch: 82.5.0 kg, Total: 172.5 kg

IWF work

From 1983 to 1989, Judy served as the chairwoman of the USWF Women's Committee. In 1986 and 1987, she served as coach and official for the women who competed at the Pannonia Cup Tournament in Budapest, Hungary. She officiated at the first women's World Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida, thus becoming the first woman to referee an international competition. Judy and Gary were Commissioners for the 1998 Nike World Masters Games held in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. Judy also served as a referee for the US Olympic team in the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, the first Olympic Games to include women's weightlifting.

Writing career

Throughout the mid 1980s Glenney wrote articles on fitness, focusing on the female body as related to weightlifting and weight training. In 1989 she wrote a book titled ''So you want to be a female weightlifter'' published by Glennco Enterprises, a joint effort with her husband Gary. The book describes Olympic technique designed for the female anatomy. In 2017, Glenney's book, "Mom, I'm a Girl," was published, describing the challenges she faced when her daughter announced that she was a transgender woman.

Contemporary life

Judy currently lives in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

with her husband Gary. She teaches children's Sunday school classes at Portland Bible Church where Gary is the pastor. Judy is a teacher at

Clark College Clark College is a public community college in Vancouver, Washington. With 11,500 students, Clark College is the largest institution of higher education in southwest Washington. Founded in 1933 as a private two-year junior college, Clark Colleg ...

with classes including

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

, core conditioning, circuit fitness, and weight training. She is also involved with Stonecroft Ministries and holds regular Bible study classes at her home following with the teachings of her husband.

References

External links

* http://www.lifttilyadie.com/ * http://www.portlandbiblechurch.com/ * https://judyglenney.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Glenney, Judy Living people 1949 births Weightlifting coaches American women writers Sportspeople from Vancouver, Washington American educators American female weightlifters 21st-century American women 20th-century American women American women referees and umpires