We’re supporting Holly Ford as she sets her sights on the world's strongest woman title.
Holly talks about going from strength to strength.
Going from second at Ultimate Strongman, England's Strongest Woman, Holly is now preparing for the World's Strongest Natural Woman. Go, Holly!
Recovering from Covid-19
This year has been a whirlwind. It’s had more ups and downs than I could have imagined.
At the start of the year, I set a main goal to qualify for England's Strongest Woman. Two weeks before the qualifying event, I, unfortunately, got Covid. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t recover quickly enough. I was determined to compete in the qualifying event, where I placed fourth, half a point away from a qualifying spot. It was disappointing, but I was happy with my achievements even when I wasn't 100%. I thought, “If I can do this on my worst day, what can I achieve when I’m at my best?”
Going from strength to strength
Because I didn’t achieve my main goal, it left me and my coaching team with more time to progress and prepare for whatever was coming next. We decided that the BNSF (British Natural Strongman Federation), England’s Strongest Woman, would be a great opportunity to see where I was mentally and physically. The event was brilliant. I came home winning the event with the new title of England’s Strongest Natural Woman.
This qualified me to compete in Britain’s Strongest Natural Woman, along with five of the strongest women in the country. Because this was a path to the World's Strongest Woman, we worked tirelessly and pushed as hard as possible to be the best on the day. I walked away after battling for two days with fourth place. It stung a little, but I was proud of my achievements.
Showing the world what I can achieve
Post competition, I was approached by the World's Strongest Natural Woman organisers and was invited to compete for a world title in Finland on the 9th to 10th of September, which I jumped at! I wanted to achieve ‘worlds’ in five years when setting my goals this year. So this is beyond anything I could imagine accomplishing!
On top of this, I also competed in Ultimate Strongman: England’s Strongest Woman — placing second and qualifying for Ultimate Britain’s Strongest Women on the 27th of August, which aires on Channel 5 at Christmas. They also offered me a spot on their 2024 arena tour.
Thanks to Aire Logic
I couldn’t have achieved this without Aire Logic's support and sponsorship. This year has been wild, and it’s not done yet as I am preparing for the Ultimates and the Worlds. I’m pushing harder, achieving more and showing the world what I can achieve.