World's strongest woman finally happy with her size

By Kim Junghyun and Jon Herskovitz

SEOUL (Reuters Life!) - South Korean weightlifting champion Jang Mi-ran battled with her size as a teenager, but now the world's strongest woman, as she is popularly known, has become a role model for heavy youngsters at home and abroad.

Jang won weightlifting gold at the Beijing Olympics in the super-heavyweight class with a series of record-setting lifts. Since then, the 125-kg (275 lb) athlete has become a national hero and an inspiration to other females.

Jang, who has a ready smile and a hearty laugh, spoke to Reuters about her life as an athlete and new-found celebrity.

Q: What is the best thing about being the world's strongest woman?

A: "I used to think that my size was a flaw before I started weightlifting. But after I started weightlifting, that has become my strongest point. Now I'm very pleased to be dubbed the world's strongest woman."

Q: What are the drawbacks? Do your friends ask you to help when they move or open jars?

A: "Well, not too often, fortunately. I think the strength I use for weightlifting is completely different than the strength needed for other tasks. I guess I'm not that exceptionally strong in doing everyday stuff."

Q: But still, can you easily open jars?

A: "Oh yeah, most of them."

Q: When did you discover that you are so good at weightlifting?

A: "My parents actually forced me to start weightlifting when I was 17, because they thought it would be good for me. At that time, I was already bigger than my friends. But you know, no matter how good shape you are in physically for weightlifting, you still wouldn't want to do it if you actually didn't like it. Fortunately, weightlifting fits me. It's fun."

Q: Can you describe your training routine?

A: "I train about six to seven hours a day on average. In the winter months, I concentrate on building up physical strength, which inevitably involves a lot of hard training that sometimes starts at dawn.

In summertime, I work primarily on challenging myself to get to a higher level, using accumulated physical strength. So although the absolute amount of time spent in training is reduced in summer, the intensity increases."

Q: You have developed a reputation in South Korea for spending a lot of time lifting books. What do you like to read?