Bev Francis threw 15.16 m in shot put at Montréal's Olympic Stadium on 24 August 1979, a notable mark in her track-and-field career.
On 24 August 1979, Bev Francis competed in the shot put at the Olympic Stadium in Montréal, recording a throw of 15.16 metres. This performance, documented by World Athletics, came during the period when Francis was still primarily a track-and-field athlete, having earlier broken the Australian shot put record and represented her country internationally.
This competition in Montréal illustrates the breadth of Francis's athletic career before she transitioned fully into powerlifting and later bodybuilding. Her shot put career had already earned her selection to Australian representative teams, including an appearance at the Pacific Conference Games, and would culminate in the 1978 Commonwealth Games and an Australian national shot put championship win in 1982.
The Montréal performance stands as one of the few precisely dated milestones from her athletics years, offering a rare fixed point in the record of her early career. It underscores that long before she became known as a powerlifting world champion and bodybuilding pioneer, Francis was already a nationally competitive thrower, demonstrating the raw power and explosive strength that would define her later achievements in strength sports.