Bev Francis set a world-record 212.5 kg squat and 550.0 kg total in the 75 kg class at the Australian Nationals.
On 21 August 1981, at the Australian Nationals, Bev Francis set a world-record squat of 212.5 kg and a world-record total of 550.0 kg in the 75 kg weight class, extending her dominance across multiple bodyweight categories.
This performance was notable because it demonstrated Francis's remarkable versatility—rather than specializing in a single weight class, she set world records across the 75 kg and 82.5 kg classes within the same competitive years, an extraordinarily rare achievement in powerlifting where lifters typically compete in one class for extended periods.
Her 212.5 kg squat was an especially imposing figure, reflecting lower-body strength that rivaled or exceeded many male lifters of comparable bodyweight at the time. This further fueled the growing reputation of Francis as an outlier talent whose raw power seemed to defy conventional expectations of female athletic capability, contributing to the broader cultural conversation about women's strength that would later intensify during her transition into bodybuilding.