Olalla woman qualifies for world strongman competition

Audra Boltin wins Washington competition, places sixth nationally

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

Audra Boltin of Olalla is a strong woman. At 28, she can out-bench most grown men with a maximum press of 245 pounds.

Boltin frequents the Gig Harbor Family YMCA more than most people. There, she spends up to three hours, five days a week, on a grueling weightlifting schedule, including cardiovascular training.

Why? She wants to be the world’s strongest woman.

In May, Boltin caught a strongman show on TV and was instantly hooked. She immediately began to train and qualified for the second annual Washington’s Strongest Apple Contest on July 18 in Des Moines.

In just three months, Boltin appeared in front of a large crowd of people and competed against 15 other women in the heavyweight division.

She dominated, winning every event.

“I guess, as it stands, I’m Washington’s strongest woman,” Boltin said.

Her performance in the Apple competition qualified her for nationals, which were held Aug. 8 in Boston. The 188-pounder placed sixth against a pool of highly experienced amateurs.

“The average man can not do what I do,” Boltin said.

During the national competition, Boltin said she was “high” on adrenaline while she was in the moment. She left with bruises up and down her arms from the sheer weight of the objects that were pressed against her body.

She struggled in her first event — the 150-pound log press — and scored zero points due to a disqualification. But she knew she could do better, considering she pressed 120 pounds at the state competition 10 times.

During the 380-pound farmer’s carry, an event that distributes 190 pounds of weight on both arms, she traveled 100 feet in 35 seconds. In the atlas stone lift, she heaved the 200-pound ball onto a pedestal four times.

Boltin’s performance was good enough to receive an invitation to the world’s strongest woman competition, sanctioned by the International Federation of Strength Athletes and televised on ESPN.

High school days

When Boltin was 16, she was more physically developed than many of her peers. She began lifting weights as a freshman and was out-lifting some of the boys at Stockdale High School, a California school in Bakersfield.

Boltin played football, wrestled and was the captain of volleyball and fastpitch teams.

“I was classified as a Tomboy,” Boltin said.

Although she spent just two years as a Mustang — she took independent classes her junior and senior years so she could graduate more quickly and take care of her daughter — Boltin always has been an extreme competitor.

Boltin remembers being one of the first girls to wrestle for her high school team at 155 pounds.

“I helped usher more girls through the door,” Boltin said about the stereotype of women not playing more physically oriented sports.

Becoming a strongman

On a YouTube video of Boltin at Washington’s Strongest Apple Contest last month, she’s caught grunting and putting her body through an extreme level of physical stress.

Her behavior and strength during the competition look less human and more like the woman on the movie “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.”

Boltin squats more than 315 pounds and can deadlift even more. Aside from her drive to become the world’s strongest woman is her love as a mother and wife.

Boltin is the girls coach for Clover Park High School wrestling team. She’s also a part-time physical fitness instructor. She and her husband, Stefan, are about to celebrate their ninth anniversary.

Boltin had an epiphany in 2004 when one of her dearest friends died of a heart attack at the age of 34. Doctors attributed it to obesity.

Boltin’s diet and lifestyle had worsened over time, a fact she attributes to becoming a mother at 17.

At the same time her friend died, Boltin could see her lifestyle spiraling in the same direction.

She weighed 280 pounds, and she ate all the wrong types of food.

But in 2004, she changed her life and got back into the gym. She stopped eating fast food, processed foods, and she rarely drinks sugary sodas.

In a span of just three months, she lost 40 pounds. Soon afterward, she wanted to get back into weightlifting as well.

Two years ago, after she lost about 100 pounds and gained a considerable amount of muscle, she injured her shoulder. She was forced to stop lifting for about a year.

Boltin started weightlifting again late last year and received her chance to show off her capabilities in her first strongman event in July.

Now she’ll have an opportunity to show the world how strong she is.

“Doing this is like I’m competing in the Olympics,” she said.

Amateur nationals

Audra Boltin of Olalla competed at a national amateur strongman competition in Boston on Aug. 8. She was among seven women in the heavyweight division.

150-pound log press: Disqualified

325 pound-tire and axle dead lift: Three lifts, fourth place

650-pound tire lift: 3 1/2 lifts, fourth place

380-pound combined farmer’s carry: 100 feet carried distance, fourth place

200-pound atlas stone lift: Four lifts, fourth place