Meet ‘Supergirl,’ the World’s Strongest Teenager
- 6 years ago
Meet ‘Supergirl,’ the World’s Strongest Teenager
“But when I lift, I put it all to the side, and all I care about is that bar in front of me.”
During weekend powerlifting competitions, when the crowd is revved up and
that bar is loaded with hundreds of pounds — Naomi squats 321 pounds and dead lifts 365 pounds — she turns into Supergirl.
“This is Naomi Kutin, the strongest teenager in the world in both the squat
and the dead lift,” said the announcer, Geno Biancheri, the charismatic tournament M. C.
known as the Pirate of Powerlifting for his heavy metal ringmaster style.
“In school plays, I get stage fright, but I don’t have stage fright in powerlifting, even if I’m in front
of hundreds of people,” said Naomi, whose modern Orthodox Jewish family follows strict religious rules.
“We thought when she first started that it’d be a kid fad,
that she’d quit within three months,” Ms. Kutin said recently as the family trained in their cramped basement.
“I hate it — I only listen to it before I lift,” said Naomi, who approaches the bar with yells, growls, staccato breathing and pumping arms.
Naomi cranked up the heavy metal music and loaded heavy plates on the bar for
sets of squats, lowering into a crouch with the weight bar on her shoulders.
“But when I lift, I put it all to the side, and all I care about is that bar in front of me.”
During weekend powerlifting competitions, when the crowd is revved up and
that bar is loaded with hundreds of pounds — Naomi squats 321 pounds and dead lifts 365 pounds — she turns into Supergirl.
“This is Naomi Kutin, the strongest teenager in the world in both the squat
and the dead lift,” said the announcer, Geno Biancheri, the charismatic tournament M. C.
known as the Pirate of Powerlifting for his heavy metal ringmaster style.
“In school plays, I get stage fright, but I don’t have stage fright in powerlifting, even if I’m in front
of hundreds of people,” said Naomi, whose modern Orthodox Jewish family follows strict religious rules.
“We thought when she first started that it’d be a kid fad,
that she’d quit within three months,” Ms. Kutin said recently as the family trained in their cramped basement.
“I hate it — I only listen to it before I lift,” said Naomi, who approaches the bar with yells, growls, staccato breathing and pumping arms.
Naomi cranked up the heavy metal music and loaded heavy plates on the bar for
sets of squats, lowering into a crouch with the weight bar on her shoulders.