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Description
For more than a century, weightlifting was one of the last Olympic sports closed to women – but they refused to stay out.
Heavy Metal tells the gripping true story of how women fought their way into elite strength sport, transforming garages, basements and local gyms into training grounds for a global movement. From circus strongwomen and mid-century fitness pioneers to the athletes and organisers who staged the first competitions, this is a story of persistence against medical warnings, cultural stigma and institutional resistance.
Drawing on rare archives and first-hand interviews, Conor Heffernan reveals how grassroots activism forced the International Weightlifting Federation and the International Olympic Committee to finally recognise women's lifting. Along the way, the book explores bigger questions about gender, power and the body – from Cold War politics and doping scandals to debates about femininity and fairness that still resonate today.
Fast-paced, surprising and deeply human, Heavy Metal is essential reading for anyone interested in the hidden histories of sport and the women who changed it forever.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- EPUB 3.0
- Conforms with the requirements of EPUB Accessibility Spec v1.1
- WCAG level AA
- WCAG v2.2 compliant
- accessibility@bloomsbury.com
Hazards
The publication contains no hazards
Support for non-visual reading
- No accessibility features offered by the reading system, device or reading software are disabled or otherwise unusable with the product
- Has alternative text descriptions for images
Visual adjustments
Appearance of the text and page layout can be modified according to the capabilities of the reading system (font family and size, spaces, as well as color of background and text)
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
- Content is enhanced with ARIA roles to optimize organization and facilitate navigation
- Purposes of all links are made clear
Rich content
Language tagging provided
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Introduction
1. The First Weightlifters
2. From Strongwomen to Strong Women
3. From the Margins to the Mainstream
4. The Eyes of the World Are on Weightlifting
5. Gaining Olympic Acceptance
6. Women's Weightlifting at the Olympics
Conclusion
Appendix A: List of Interviews
Appendix B: A Brief Chronology of Women's Weightlifting
Bibliography
Product details
| Published | 08 Jul 2027 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 264 |
| ISBN | 9781350674257 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 15 bw illus |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |

























