International Women’s Day has come and gone, but it’s ridiculous to confine our admiration of women to one day/month in a year. Women are strong, smart, and kind. Strength doesn’t start and end in the muscles of the body. Sometimes, moral and psychological strength can impress just as much (if not more). Sometimes, endurance and longevity can show more strength than the act of lifting a heavy object. Sometimes, though, the mere act of lifting a heavy object can make your jaw drop. Here are 10 of the strongest women in the world!

Jill Mills

Jill Mills is a is a bodybuilder and powerlifter. She started her career as a bodybuilder in 1993. In 1996 she transitioned from bodybuilding to powerlifting, and has been competing in various championships since. She has been in the industry for over 20 years! In 2001 and 2002 she won the title of World’s Strongest Woman. Two consecutive years! Absolutely incredible.

Donna Moore

Donna Moore’s story is one of astounding transformation and accomplishment. For years she was unhappy and overweight. As a single mother of two, she often struggled. But since then she has taken solid steps to becoming healthier, happier, and much, much stronger! She took her life in her hands and flipped it around! She participated in the Arnold Sports Festival in Ohio and set a world record in the “Stone Load” competition. At 37, she has cemented her status as one of the world’s strongest women! She continues to compete now, as well.

Nina Geria

This Ukrainian sportswoman was named the World’s Strongest Lady in 2011. She began her career in sports as a shot put thrower and pursued this path for 7 years between 2003 and 2009. After that, she pivoted to training for various strongman competitions. In addition to her World’s Strongest Lady title, she also holds five world records in the Guinness World Book of Records!

Malala Yousafzai

As mentioned, physical strength is not the only type of strength. Take a look at Malala Yousafzai, who has won the Nobel Peace Prize. She campaigns (rather successfully, might I add) for the education of women in Pakistan. In October of 2012 she was the victim of an assassination attempt, and yet she persisted in her pursuit of equal education for everyone in Pakistan. That took a lot of courage and moral strength, and so she definitely belongs on the list of the world’s strongest women!

Meng Suping

Meng Suping is a Chinese weightlifter who won Olympic gold in the 2016 Summer Olympics. She lifted 130kg on snatch and 177kg on clean and jerk (two different types of weightlifting methods). The combined weight of 307kg won her the Gold Medal! Earlier, in 2012, she managed to lift 180kg in the clean and jerk competition.

Queen Elizabeth II

We’ve talked about moral strength, now let’s talk about longevity! Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-ruling queen in the history of Great Britain! She has been wearing that crown since 1952 (that’s 67 years) and at the age of 93 she shows no sign of stepping down from the throne! God Save the QUEEN!

Tatiana Kashirina

Tatiana Kashirina is a Russian weightlifter. The amount of gold medals listed on her Wikipedia page is too much to count (okay, I counted – it’s 17 gold medals, plus multiple top-ranks in either the Snatch or Clean & Jerk categories). She has won gold medals in the European Championships eight times (the first 7 were consecutive wins from 2009 to 2017!). She placed second during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Angela Merkel

We’ve covered moral strength, longevity, and now let’s get to endurance! Angela Merkel has been at the head of the German government for 14 years, serving as the Chancellor of Germany. She has seen the country through a global economic recession, multiple EU tensions, and the ongoing global refugee crisis. Through it all, she has managed to ensure that Germany has one of the strongest economies in all of Europe. And yet, after all these years, she manages to see every challenge for what it is, and manage to handle it well!

Natalya Lisovskaya

Natalya Lisovskaya is a soviet shot put thrower who holds the world record for the longest shot put throw. She managed to throw the 4kg shot put a whooping 22.63 meters! That is a world record that has not been beaten to this day!