Bev Francis set a world-record total of 575.0 kg in the 82.5 kg class at the Women's World Powerlifting Championship.
On 11 May 1981, competing at the Women's World Powerlifting Championship, Bev Francis set a world-record total of 575.0 kg in the 82.5 kg weight class. This was one of numerous world records she set during international competition throughout the early 1980s.
This championship-level performance came at a pivotal moment for women's powerlifting, which was only beginning to gain formal international recognition through federations like the IPF. Francis's ability to consistently break her own and others' records at the sport's highest level of competition helped establish credibility for women's powerlifting as a legitimate elite athletic pursuit.
The 575.0 kg total represented a significant increase over prior benchmarks in the 82.5 kg class and reinforced Francis's status as the sport's premier competitor. Her performances at these early world championships laid the groundwork for her unprecedented streak of six consecutive world titles between 1980 and 1985, during which she would repeatedly reset the bar for what was thought possible in women's strength sports.