Saskatoon strongwoman finds success and community in a sport of misfits

Saskatoon strongwoman Jackie Osczevski says the sport of strongman is filled with athletes who are competitive, but couldn’t find their sport or community.

“They’re drawn to it because they don’t belong anywhere else,” said Osczevski, the second strongest woman in the world.

“They have this athletic drive, because for me, after university, after frisbee was done, I was still competitive. I still wanted to compete, I felt like I was lost a little bit in the sport world.”

But Osczevski has found her sport. Having started in 2016, she turned professional a year later.

“If you’re a farm kid, this is a great sport for you because if you are blue collar strong or farm strong, this is the sport for you,” she said.

“My genetics is very farm strong, so this is perfect for me.”

In the years since, she’s shot up the rankings — earning multiple podiums.

Three times she’s been named the second strongest woman in Canada, fifth in North America, and strongest in western Canada.

But earlier this month, Osczevski went up against the strongest field of competition she’s ever faced at the Original Strongman Games World Final in Madison, Wisconsin.

“There was a group of 22 women in my weight class alone,” said Osczevski.

“There was 400 athletes across all weight classes, but this is probably the biggest group of open women I’ve ever seen.”

Over three days, she carried a car like a backpack, hurled sandbags over 13-foot walls, hoisted stones more than 300 pounds up on platforms among other feats of strength, and she finished second in the open category.

Saskatoon's Jackie Osczevski holds the title of world's second strongest woman. (John Flatters / CTV News)

It was her performance in the “stone run” that joined only a handful of women in the history of the sport, sending her from fifth place to second.

“There have only been four or five women including me in the history of World’s Strongest Woman to ever finish the stone run,” Osczevski told CTV News. “So it was a bit of a rite of passage I suppose.”

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But as nice as the trophy and the title feels, it’s the sense of community among other strongwomen from around the world that she values most.

“It’s just fun,” she said. “It’s my community, it’s my group of people. Unfortunately it’s a small community in Canada, but globally it’s large. So when I go to a place like Worlds, it’s really good to have my community and my group of girlfriends.”

It’s still a small community in Canada, but that makes for a tight-knit one.

Fellow professional strongwoman Bailey Cloherty got her start in Saskatoon with Osczevski, and is the Alberta provincial representative for Strongman Corporation Canada.

“You get to race some of the people that you train with in the gym,” said Cloherty.

“So it’s that nice competitive edge where, yes, it’s you at the end of the day at the competition. But you have all your friends and your peers and your competitors beside you. And if you do beat them in the race, then that drives them to get better at their next show. It’s that perfect balance of you want to beat your friend, but you also applaud them for hitting their personal records.”

On top of her full time job and her own training schedule, Osczevski is growing the sport by coaching athletes from across western Canada.

“I really like to encourage rookies into the sport, and I do have a few athletes across western Canada,” she said.

While some might recognize strongman competitions from Saturday mornings on TV, the new age of social media gives athletes the opportunity and responsibility to grow the sport through self-promotion.

“Exposure is huge,” she said. “I don’t have anyone managing my social media, it’s me. And with how busy life is, remembering to post is tricky.”

For Osczevski, she’s not sitting back and enjoying the recent result.

“I don’t see it as a badge that I wear,” she said. “It’s just, where is the next challenge? And it’s just a place where I can go and be with my community, and work hard, and be challenged, and be pushed to the limit.”

Osczevski is looking forward to competing in the 2025 Arnold Strongwoman Classic in March.