Irene
5'7" 164-177 pounds
Q) Irene, thank you for doing this interview. We will cover just the basics today. Where are you from, what sports do you do and how did you get started with weight lifting?
A) I am Estonian. My father was a very good football (soccer) player and my mother was a basketball player. So all four children in our family were watched for athletic achievements. I began Handball, weightlifting and rowing.
Q) When did you realize and when did others realize that you are so strong?
A) I began lifting weights when I was just eight and when I was twelve I was as strong as most women athletes. I kept growing and getting wider hips, shoulders and lifting more and more. Strong women don't usually look as powerful as they are, so people don't always know how strong I am until they see me flexing or lifting.
Q) Where did you learn such great English?
A) In London. I spent a lot of time there and some in the United States.
Q) Are you stronger than many men you know?
A) Yes. The men I know from school and places outside the gym are not as strong as me. Sometimes even men from the gym are not as strong as me.
Q) How does it feel to be stronger than men? How do they react to a woman being stronger than they are?
A) I like it because it is unusual. Some men like it also and think it is interesting. Some men feel like they are less of a man just because I have muscles.
Q) Have you ever defeated a man and arm wrestling, wrestling or outlifted them at the gym?
A) I had a few arm wrestles for fun and won. Those men were good sports. I only remember wrestling one time for fun and the guy was also in high school like me and he was small, I won and was expected to. At the gym I do out lift men. I don't lift light just to please the men so sometimes they can not lift as much as me.
Q) Do men in different countries react differently to women with muscles?
A) Men in the USA and Western Europe will have more guts to talk to me and look at my body more, just sometimes staring. In Romania everything is more quiet and reserved.
Q) What do men notice and like most about you? What do you like best about your physique?
A) In all times it's my back and arms. They are very big and strong. I am proud and men who like muscles on a lady like my back and arms very, very much.
Q) Can you tell us about wrestling vs a man?
A) I can. I had a man tell me that even the strongest woman is weaker than a man. I was really surprised her said this to me. I knew him for a few years. I told him I could beat him up if I wanted to. He laughed at me which is a big no-no. He said he is taller and heavier but I said I was stronger. I grabbed him by the ribs, squeezed his air out and threw him on the ground. He was out of wind and beaten up. I did not see him too much since then!
Q) Irene, thank you for doing this interview. We will cover just the basics today. Where are you from, what sports do you do and how did you get started with weight lifting?
A) I am Estonian. My father was a very good football (soccer) player and my mother was a basketball player. So all four children in our family were watched for athletic achievements. I began Handball, weightlifting and rowing.
Q) When did you realize and when did others realize that you are so strong?
A) I began lifting weights when I was just eight and when I was twelve I was as strong as most women athletes. I kept growing and getting wider hips, shoulders and lifting more and more. Strong women don't usually look as powerful as they are, so people don't always know how strong I am until they see me flexing or lifting.
Q) Where did you learn such great English?
A) In London. I spent a lot of time there and some in the United States.
Q) Are you stronger than many men you know?
A) Yes. The men I know from school and places outside the gym are not as strong as me. Sometimes even men from the gym are not as strong as me.
Q) How does it feel to be stronger than men? How do they react to a woman being stronger than they are?
A) I like it because it is unusual. Some men like it also and think it is interesting. Some men feel like they are less of a man just because I have muscles.
Q) Have you ever defeated a man and arm wrestling, wrestling or outlifted them at the gym?
A) I had a few arm wrestles for fun and won. Those men were good sports. I only remember wrestling one time for fun and the guy was also in high school like me and he was small, I won and was expected to. At the gym I do out lift men. I don't lift light just to please the men so sometimes they can not lift as much as me.
Q) Do men in different countries react differently to women with muscles?
A) Men in the USA and Western Europe will have more guts to talk to me and look at my body more, just sometimes staring. In Romania everything is more quiet and reserved.
Q) What do men notice and like most about you? What do you like best about your physique?
A) In all times it's my back and arms. They are very big and strong. I am proud and men who like muscles on a lady like my back and arms very, very much.
Q) Can you tell us about wrestling vs a man?
A) I can. I had a man tell me that even the strongest woman is weaker than a man. I was really surprised her said this to me. I knew him for a few years. I told him I could beat him up if I wanted to. He laughed at me which is a big no-no. He said he is taller and heavier but I said I was stronger. I grabbed him by the ribs, squeezed his air out and threw him on the ground. He was out of wind and beaten up. I did not see him too much since then!