Meet the ‘world’s fittest woman’ Laura Horvath who can lift 265lb – almost twice her own body weight
LAURA Horvath is quite literally the fittest woman on earth.
She can lift a whopping 265lbs (120kg) above her head – almost twice her own body weight.
If that wasn’t enough, she also runs, swims, cycles, climbs and does gymnastics.
Is there truly anything the mighty powerhouse can’t do?
Early days
Laura was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1997.
She was a sporty child and apparently felt most at home on a climbing wall.
She won several national titles and competed in the European youth championships.
In 2014, Laura was introduced to CrossFit by her brother Kristof, and the rest is history.
CrossFit fanatic
CrossFit is a form of high-intensity interval training made up of functional strength and condition movements.
This means squatting, pulling, pushing and lifting – and lots of it.
Laura entered her first CrossFit competition in 2015 and narrowly missed a medal when she placed fourth.
After several other failed attempts to reach the podium, she eventually made it to the CrossFit Games in 2018.
As the first Hungarian woman ever to take part and the youngest woman in the entire competition, she finished top of the leaderboard at the end of the first day.
She won her first ever event, The Battleground, on the second day.
This involves: a ‘rescue Randy drag’, two rope climbs, a 400m run and an obstacle course.
Overall, Laura swiped silver and was named Rookie of the Year.
She won silver again in 2021 and bronze in 2022, but it was in 2023 that she finally secured gold and earned herself the title ‘The Fittest Woman on Earth’.
‘Fittest Woman on Earth’
Laura hit a huge 265lb (120kg) clean and jerk – where a barbell is lifted from the floor to their shoulders, and then overhead.
She also clocked 210lbs (95kg) in the snatch – where the barbell is lifted above the head in a singular motion – meaning her three lifts came to an Olympic Total of 270lb (213kg).
“It was a long time in the making,” she told Women’s Health.
“I proved that I belong in the top position.
“Ever since I started CrossFit, I knew that it would be just a matter of time for me to reach my goal of the fittest on earth.
“I’m very happy that I achieved it last year.”
The heaviest women’s snatch of all time is 342lb (155kg) and clean and jerk is 425lb (193kg) – both belonging to Tatiana Kashirina.
It’s amazing what our bodies can do if you put the work in
Laura Horvath
That same year, she also won the 168lb (76kg) category at the Savaria Cup weightlifting competition with a 258lb (117kg) clean and jerk, and the Hungary National Championship in weightlifting with a total of 474lb (215kg).
According to Breaking Muscle, Laura said after winning: “I’m happy what my body can do and I’m not looking at the new Barbie movie [thinking], ‘Oh, I want to look like that.’
“I want to look like what I look like. And I just want to prove that my body, whatever it looks like, can do these amazing things and move things from A to B and run fast and lift heavy, and all those things.
“I’m very excited that little girls and teenagers can look up to all these amazing girls that are here, because our bodies are not us, we are what’s inside, and it’s amazing what our bodies can do if you put the work in.”
Intense training
To get competition-ready, Laura does it all.
Cycling, swimming and carrying sandbags up and down hills – you name it, she does it.
Laura even throws something called a Pig. “It’s like a big log or tyre, but more square shaped – and you flip it,” she said.
These huge rectangle-shaped objects weigh up to a whopping 400lb (181kg) for women.
But she spends most of her time in a CrossFit gym.
All of this is interspersed with high-intensity cardio training like running, rowing and the skiing machine.
Typically, she will run for 40 to 50 minutes or do EMOMs (every minute on the minute where you complete a certain number of reps or calories within 60 seconds) on a stationary bike, rowing machine or SkiErg.
Laura admits she doesn’t really enjoy “pure-strength gymnastics” – but her Instagram videos suggest she’s still pretty good at it.
Jaw-dropping clips show her doing push-ups while in a handstand and doing pull-ups and dips with what appears to be great ease.
Reassuringly though, she does take time to rest – even if it is only one day a week.
“I watch TV on my couch, hang out with my dog, or go on big walks, or I socialise – I visit my parents for lunch and play board games, or I see my friends and go for a coffee,” Laura said.
An average week of workouts for Laura
MONDAY: Two sessions at a CrossFit gym in the morning – one weightlifting and cardio-based – and bodybuilding in the evening.
TUESDAY: Swimming in the morning and two CrossFit sessions in the afternoon and evening.
WEDNESDAY: Two sessions at a CrossFit gym in the morning – one weightlifting and cardio-based – and bodybuilding in the evening.
THURSDAY: Swimming in the morning and a run in the afternoon.
FRIDAY: Two sessions at a CrossFit gym in the morning – one weightlifting and cardio-based – and a “commercial accessory” session in the evening.
SATURDAY: Run in the morning and a CrossFit session in the afternoon.
SUNDAY: A long walk and rest.
Source: Women’s Health
Nutrition
Laura has worked with a nutritionist since 2021 to really ramp up her training.
But interestingly, she doesn’t count calories or macros like she has done in the past, nor does she follow a strict paleo diet.
Instead, she focuses on general healthy eating.
A typical breakfast is porridge or scrambled eggs, according to Built for Athletes.
But if she’s running, she won’t eat until after her workout.
Between sessions, she’ll eat another two or three times during the day, and will avoid eating after 8pm if possible.
Laura consumes “a lot of dairy products like milk and yoghurt” and tends to avoid bread completely.
Overall, it’s about getting enough protein and carbohydrates to fuel her body to perform at its best.
Her idols
In interviews, Laura has mentioned looking up to two people – Lindsey Vonn and Serena Williams.
Vonn, 39, is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer who won gold in 2010, while Williams, 42, is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, having ranked number one for 319 weeks and won 23 Grand Slam women’s singles titles.
Women's 2023 CrossFit Games rankings
- Laura Horvath (Hungary) – 966 points (2023 Fittest Woman on Earth)
- Emma Lawson (Canada) – 919 points
- Arielle Loewen (United States) – 883 points
- Gabriela Migala (Poland) – 788 points
- Alex Gazan (United States) – 786 points
- Alexis Raptis (United States) – 771 points
- Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir (United States) – 741 points
- Emma Cary (United States) – 731 points
- Danielle Brandon (United States) – 711 points
- Paige Powers (United States) – 696 points