Inez Carrasquillo (born 14 February 1994) is a Puerto Rican-American

strongwoman A strongwoman is a woman who performs feats of strength in a show or circus, or a woman who competes in strength athletics. Traditionally, strongwomen have had a special appeal, as women involved in demonstrated feats of strength were exceptions ...

. Born in Chicago, Carrasquillo has chosen to represent Puerto Rico in competition throughout her career. Carrasquillo began her amateur strongwoman career in 2020 after briefly competing in

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

, where she achieved what was then the 19th-best total in women's history. Competing at the professional level since 2021, Carrasquillo has won four international contests along with numerous national and regional contests. She holds several world records in the women's

overhead press The overhead press, also known as the shoulder press, strict press or military press, is an upper-body weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight overhead while seated or standing. It is mainly used to develop the anterior de ...

, holding the log lift world record since 2023.

Early life

Carrasquillo was born in Chicago to Puerto Rican parents. Carrasquillo and her sisters were adopted by their grandmother, who worked as a bus driver to support them. She was encouraged to pursue sports due to her height, competing in

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

. Carrasquillo struggled financially throughout her 20's, briefly becoming homeless and living in her car. She cited lifting as a source of stability during especially difficult times.

Career

Carrasquillo briefly competed in

, competing in three

USA Powerlifting USA Powerlifting (USAPL) is a national and international powerlifting organization based in the United States. The USAPL sanctions local, regional, national, and international meets in the United States and several other member countries. The c ...

meets and winning all three. She achieved a total of 1,450lbs, the 19th-best women's total at the time. Afterwards, coach Alec Pagan offered to help her compete in strongwoman. She would compete in her first amateur competition, the Rainier Pro-Am, after only four weeks of training, taking second. She would compete at the 2021 Official Strongman Games, tying for third. This would also be her first time representing Puerto Rico in competition. Carrasquillo continued to compete in amateur competitions, winning the 2022 Arnold Amateur Strongwoman World Series while taking first place in every event. She participated in pro shows including America's Strongest Woman and the Beerstone competition in 2022; Beerstone would be her first professional win. In 2023, Carrasquillo broke the record for the women's log lift with a lift of 145.8kg (321.4 lbs). She also made her first appearance at the Arnold Strongwoman Classic, where she would come fifth. At the 2024 Arnold Strongwoman Classic, Carrasquillo injured herself by tripping and falling during a frame carrying event, smashing her face into the implement. Despite severe swelling, Carrasquillo completed the contest, placing 5th. Later that year, Carrasquillo won the

Rogue Invitational The Rogue Invitational is an annual sporting event that includes a CrossFit competition and a Strongman competition. The event, organized by Rogue, started in 2019 as a CrossFit sanctioned competition, but has since become a major competition ...

featuring the largest prize pool in the history of strongwoman. She also won that year's North America's Strongest Woman competition. In 2025, Carrasquillo won the Arnold Strongwoman Classic, with some analysts arguing that her win secured her spot as the best competitor in the sport.

Personal life

Outside of strongwoman, Carrasquillo works full-time in the tech industry. She is a single mother. Due to her schedule, including lifts of up to four hours for five days a week, she often brings her son to the gym while she trains. Carrasquillo, though born in the continental United States, chose to represent

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in the Official Strongman Games, where competitors are required to list a nationality. She explained that she made the decision as a means of embracing her Latina heritage and offering a positive representation to young athletes, stating that she wished to be the first Latina to win World's Strongest Woman. Carrasquillo is

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

. She cites strongman

Tom Stoltman Tom Ryan Stoltman (born 30 May 1994) is a British professional strongman competitor, from Invergordon, Scotland. He is a three time winner of the World's Strongest Man in 2021, 2022, and 2024. He also won the national title of Britain's Strongest ...

, also autistic, as an inspiration for her career.

Personal records

Strongwoman *

Deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

(raw on

elephant bar The elephant bar is a barbell developed by Rogue Fitness which is specifically used for the strongman raw deadlift. It was first created in 2016 by Terry Todd, the director of the Arnold Strongman Classic. The bar is known for being long and ma ...

) – (2025 Arnold Strongwoman Classic) * Deadlift (raw on standard bar) – (2024 Rogue Invitational) * Log lift – (2023 Rainier Classic Pro/Am) (''world record'') * Barbell push press – (2025 Arnold Strongwoman Classic) (''world record'') * Atlas Stone (for max) – (2022 Arnold Amateur Strongwoman World Championship) Powerlifting * Squat (raw) – (2019 USPA Ritual Classic) * Squat (raw with wraps) – (2020 USPA Power Surge Pro/Am IV) * Bench press – (2020 USPA Power Surge Pro/Am IV) * Deadlift – (2020 USPA Power Surge Pro/Am IV) * Total – (2020 USPA Power Surge Pro/Am IV)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrasquillo, Inez 1994 births American strength athletes Autistic sportspeople Disabled powerlifters Living people Puerto Rican disabled sportspeople Puerto Rican female track and field athletes Sportswomen with disabilities Strongwomen