Marie Sirois (Septembre 2, 1865 – January 18, 1920), erroneously known as Marie-Louise,Martin, Gabriel, « Marie Sirois (1865-1920), femme la plus forte du monde », Montréal, Histoire Québec, 21 mars 2017, vol. 22, no 4, p. 21-25. was a French-Canadian

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 ...

who was promoted as the strongest woman in the world. By age 17, she was noted for having lifted barrels weighing 115 kilograms. After her family moved to

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

, she married fellow Quebec strongman Henri Cloutier and performed at his gym in Salem. Édouard-Zotique Massicotte, ''Athlètes canadiens-français. Recueil des exploits de force, d'endurance, d'agilité, des athlètes et des sportsmen de notre race, depuis le XVIIIe siècle'', Montréal, Librairie Beauchemin, 1909, p. 209-215. She became a professional athlete at age 25 and became known for lifting a 1,300-kilogram platform on her back and also restraining a pair of 635-kilogram horses in a similar manner as done by Louis Cyr. Her performance continued even in her later years, such as the 1917 inauguration (when she was 50 years old) of the Montreal monument to

George-Étienne Cartier Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadians, Canadian statesman and Fathers of Confederation, Father of Confederation. The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, th ...

where she lifted alongside strongman Arthur Dandurand. After her death in 1920, she was buried in her husband's hometown of Roxton Pond, Quebec. Her tombstone describes her as "la femme plus forte du monde".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirois, Marie 1865 births 1920 deaths Canadian strength athletes Strength sportspeople from Quebec Strongwomen French strength athletes Canadian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Canadian sportswomen Sportspeople from Salem, Massachusetts American people of French-Canadian descent American strength athletes 19th-century American sportswomen