kim lawrance B Y John Ellis PHOTOGRAPHY BY Allison Potter
“UNDER AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WEIGHT, STEEL DOESN’T BREAK, IT BENDS.”
Team USA Professional Strongwoman Kimberly Lawrance explains how the barbell
has shaped her life, along with the support of her community, to make her stronger
mentally and physically.
Lawrance began high-level competitions as a collegiate soccer player for Cape Fear
Community College. Not long into her career, her dreams began to transform. A focus
on healthy living and strength training led to an interest in CrossFit competitions,
FAVORITE THING
Steel Barbell
34
WBM may 2019
where she would build a firm reputation.
Win after win, she marked herself as
a leader in strength training and quickly
gained an opportunity to compete at the
North American Strongest Men’s and
Women’s National Championship. After
another dominant performance, Lawrance received an invitation to the 2016 Arnold
Amateur Strongman and Strongwoman World Championships. Mental strength and
perseverance wouldn’t be the only skills tested on this stage. Lawrance says you have
to have enough heart — and she has plenty of it. As the Ohio air filled with growing
applause, Lawrance kept her eyes shut and all of her focus centered on the moment. An
overloaded frame tested Lawrance’s will as she doubled the hold time of her competi-tors,
securing the 2016 Arnold Amateur Strongwoman World Championship title and
stamping her claim-to-fame moment.
“Wilmington came together
to help me get there,” Lawrance
says, explaining her main source
of motivation to compete during
financial hardships. “I was hon-ored
by their support.”
With the community behind
her, Lawrance felt she had the
“potential to change people’s lives” while she continued to change her own. She feels
her success has been a collaborative effort by them “lifting each other up.”
She was determined to become a leader in her sport, and with her newfound confi-dence
Lawrance would use the momentum to secure not just the Strongest Woman in
the World 2017 title but also the title of America’s Strongest Woman 2017, before end-ing
her year with a knee injury.
FOR THE FUTURE
Kimberly has taken a step back from competing in Strongwoman arenas to focus on
her education. Even in training to be a nurse, the barbell remains her center-point for
focus.
“I realized I have to approach nursing like a competition,” she says, by taking all
that dedication to Professional Strongwoman and redirecting it toward her nursing
studies.
Lawrance believes her commitment to strength training will continue to support
her in nursing school and, eventually, it will provide an opportunity to teach youth-girl
athletes to train properly and support each other throughout the process.
Kim Lawrance performs
deadlifts, above, and a clean
and jerk, opposite, at Monkey
Junction CrossFit in March.
CLAIM TO FAME
NAMED
Strongest Woman in the World
in 2016 and 2017