Bev Francis
| Bev Francis | |
|---|---|
| — Bodybuilder — | |
| Personal info | |
| Born |
15 February 1955 Geelong, Victoria, Australia |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Professional career | |
| Pro-debut | Caesars World Cup, 1983 |
| Best win | IFBB World Pro Championships, 1987 |
| Predecessor | Juliette Bergmann |
| Successor | Dona Oliveira |
| Active | Retired 1991 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Australia | ||
| Women's Powerlifting | ||
| World Games | ||
 |
1980 IPF Women's World Powerlifting Championships | 75 kg (165 lb) |
|
1981 IPF Women's World Powerlifting Championships | 82.5 kg (182 lb) |
|
1982 IPF Women's World Powerlifting Championships | 75 kg (165 lb) |
|
1983 IPF Women's World Powerlifting Championships | 82.5 kg (182 lb) |
|
1984 IPF Women's World Powerlifting Championships | 82.5 kg (182 lb) |
|
1985 IPF Women's World Powerlifting Championships | 82.5 kg (182 lb) |
Beverley "Bev" Francis (born 15 February 1955) is an Australian gym owner and retired professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, and national shot put champion.
Beverley Francis was born on 15 February 1955 in Geelong, Victoria, the youngest of five children. In 1976, she graduated from the University of Melbourne, where she obtained a degree in physical education and a teaching diploma. She then worked as a high school physical education and mathematics teacher for eight years.
As a teenager, Francis became an accomplished shot putter. In February 1974, she began serious training. In 1977, she broke the Australian shot put record. From 1977–1979 and 1981–1982, she was an Australian track and field team member. She missed the 1980 track season due to a knee injury. In 1982, she won the Australian national shot put championships. Along with shot put, she performed the discus throw, javelin throw, and 100 meter reserve.
In 1980, Francis held all world records in the 82.5 kg (182 lb) weight class. At the 1981 World Powerlifting Championships, she set a world record when she bench pressed 150 kg (330 lb), the first woman's bench press over 300 lb. At the 1982 Australian Powerlifting Championships in Adelaide, she set a world record in the 82.5 kg (182 lb) class with a squat of 216 kg (476 lb). She won gold medals in her weight class in the International Powerlifting Federation Championships from 1980–1985.
After becoming the first woman to bench press over 300 lb (140 kg), a picture of Francis striking a most muscular pose, or "the crab", while wearing a bikini appeared in several bodybuilding magazines around the world. She possessed far more muscular size than the most muscular female bodybuilders at the time. Her powerlifting accolade led to her being invited by producer George Butler to take part in the film Pumping Iron II: The Women, which was being shot around the Cesar's World Cup being held in Las Vegas in December 1983. At that contest, she said she should have been "first or last". She placed in the middle as 8th among 15 competitors. Disappointed with the results, she attempted to reinvent her physique along the lines of what was being rewarded, especially after hearing that she was "too muscular" for the judges' tastes.
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