We used an interpreter for some of the interview. Olga answered some of the questions herself.

Sidebar: Very impressive! She did much better answering the questions in English than I would have done asking questions in another language.

How did you start Strongwoman?

She wanted to be a world champion. Her trainer offered her to try the Strongwoman competition. That is how she started.

Have you always been interested in fitness?

She started when she was very young. She started with the pole vault. Then, she did rope pulling. Then, she became a rugby champion in Europe for 4 years. Since 2014, after rugby, she started doing Strongwoman.

Do you have a favorite Strongwoman event?

The yoke is my favorite, then farmers carry. I don’t like the dumbbell. Maybe, the best of the best is the stone.

Sidebar: Olga Liashchuk was moving so fast carrying the yoke (50 feet) that the judge was having a tough time keeping up with her.

I also like the press. Last year, they had an event where you must press something over your shoulder. She did 6 reps in a minute and 8 seconds back in the Ukraine. But, here in the US in one minute, she would do 7 reps. The ball she was training with was cracked. That is why she did so well here in the competition. Using the cracked ball was uncomfortable. The next year she purchased her own ball.

Sidebar: The stone event was last woman standing style. The athletes are throwing a 240-pound stone over a 50-inch bar. For example, the athlete in 8^th place would load the stone over the bar to the athlete in 7^th place. They go back and forth until one can’t get the stone over the bar. Then the next athlete (6^th place) will take the athletes place that failed. The athletes have 30 seconds to load the stone over the bar.

Do you have a special diet?

She prefers newborn babies (joke). Seriously, she eats a high protein diet. She eats every 3 hours. High calorie, a lot of vegetables, a lot of meat. For breakfast she eats oatmeal with eggs. She likes steak. Mostly carnivore diet.

How often do you train?

Two times a day.

How do you train?

In the morning, Strongman events. Maybe, yoke and farmers carry. For the next 6 hours I work, eat and sleep. At night, I might squat, bench press. The next day I will swim, go to the sauna, massage, and compression therapy.