Jan Todd

Janice Todd (née Suffolk; born May 22, 1952) is an American former powerlifter, historian, researcher and a strength and physical culture promoter. She is a professor and department chair in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Todd is a member of the sport management faculty, and teaches classes in sport history, sport philosophy, and sport and ethics. An active lecturer, Todd was named the Seward Staley Honor Lecturer for the North American Society for Sport History in 2008.

Early life and education Todd grew up in Western Pennsylvania in a low-income family. She went to college at Mercer University. considered her to be the strongest woman in the world. Arnold Schwarzenegger described her as a 'legend' and a "pioneer who led the way for strongwomen". On 2 February 1978 she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, performing several lifts along with Johnny Carson. In 1982 she became the first woman inducted into the International Powerlifting Hall of Fame. She was inducted in the first class of the Women’s Powerlifting Hall of Fame (in 2004), and the 2009 class of the US National Fitness Hall of Fame. She also received the 2008 Oscar Heidenstam Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions in the field of physical fitness. In 2018, she was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.

Organizing and coaching powerlifting Todd and her husband Terry Todd organized the first national women's powerlifting meet in 1977, and together coached the women's Canadian powerlifting team from 1976 to 1979. No woman lifted them again until Leigh Holland-Keen in 2018. Equipped (single ply): Squat – (1980 USPF Atlanta Women's Open) (former world record) → First woman to squat and in a sanctioned meet Bench press – (1980 USPF Atlanta Women's Open & 1981 USPF Women's Nationals) Deadlift – (1980 USPF Atlanta Women's Open & 1983 USPF Women's Nationals) (former world record) Total – (1980 USPF Atlanta Women's Open) (former world record) → First woman to total , and

Raw: Squat (w/ wraps) – (1977 First All American Women's Power Meet) Bench press – (1977 First All American Women's Power Meet) Deadlift – (1977 First All American Women's Power Meet) (former world record) → First woman to deadlift in a sanctioned meet Total – (1977 First All American Women's Power Meet)

Strongman: Dinnie Stones (assisted lift with straps) – stones (1979) (former world record) → First woman to lift the stones.

Later years Todd also serves as co-editor of Iron Game History: The Journal of Physical Culture, a scholarly journal for the history of physical culture. She and her husband founded Iron Game History together in 1990, while she was studying for her PhD in American Studies.

Personal life She met her husband Terry Todd while in college at Mercer University. He fell in love with her at a barbecue, when he saw her flip a massive log without giggling or showing any false modesty.

Terry died on July 7, 2018, in Austin, Texas, at the age of 80.