Maryana Naumova was once the strongest girl in the world. Specializing in the bench press, Maryana is a powerlifter from Russia. She holds over 15 world records in the age category that she competed in. She was given the nickname “the princess of barbell.”

Born in April 1999, Naumova rose to fame when she was just a teenager. Owing to her success in her field, she holds the title of Master of Sport of Russia, International class. Maryana was the first under-18 female to be allowed to participate in a powerlifting competition.

What was Maryana Naumova afraid of?

Well, as they say, even the strongest souls are afraid of something. However, “the princess of the barbell” wasn’t afraid of flipping a man twice her size or lifting weights three times her own. Surprisingly, what she was afraid of was the people of America.

Maryana is someone who loves to travel and has never shied away from meeting new people. She is an influencer with more than 50 thousand followers on Instagram. She keeps them updated with her travels and geographical boundaries have never limited her. However, in an exclusive interview with NBC News in 2015, she revealed what she feared the most at one point in her life.

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Maryana shared that when traveling to America, she was afraid people will detest her because of her nationality. However, luckily for the young champion, nothing of that sort happened to her. She told NBC News, “When going to America, I thought people will dislike me or avoid me. But it was nothing like that, people were coming over all the time, saying: ‘You from Russia? Cool!”

Journey of the world’s strongest girl

Maryana began lifting weights at the tender age of ten. At 13, weighing only 130lbs, she used to bench-press 240lbs. At 15, she participated in the Arnold Classic tournament in 2015, wherein she bench-pressed 330 lbs. This, in turn, earned her not only the winning title and a world record but also a hug from her idol, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

However, powerlifting isn’t all there is to this bodybuilding protégé. The sport is just a part of her life. She is also a member of the youth arm of Russia’s Communist Party- the Komsomol. As a member of the party, she often tours schools and orphanages across Russia to promote weightlifting.

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