Barnum & Bailey poster from 1914 advertising Katie Sandwina and her troupe. "Germany's beautiful Herculean Venus possessing the most perfect female figure".
Imaginative sketch by artist-reporter Marguerite Martyn of herself being lifted by Sandwina in front of a circus crowd, left, and a realistic Martyn sketch of Sandwina cooking dinner for her son and husband, right, 1911
Karyn Marshall
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Karyn Marshall is an American Olympic weightlifter who won the first women's world championship in weightlifting, held in 1987. She also set 60 American and world records in women's weightlifting and
Katie Sandwina
…the pull of four horses. Sandwina's record of an overhead lift of 296 pounds (129 kg) stood for many years until being eclipsed by women's weightlifter Karyn Marshall in 1987. Reporter Marguerite Martyn described her act when the circus came to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1911…
Marshall in 2011
Marshall was inducted into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio in March 2011. Arnold Schwarzenegger (left) presented the award.
Marshall lifting barbells at the 1987 world weightlifting competition in Daytona Beach, Florida.