One Of The World’s Strongest Women Studies at Shenandoah

A Shenandoah University exercise science student is also one of the world’s strongest women. 

Sophia Sharp ’27, who is also in the early assurance Doctor of Physical Therapy program, this past year earned the world’s strongest woman teen title and earned second place in the same competition’s U23 division. 

It Began In A Home Gym

Sharp’s path to the championship began in 2020, when she and her brother built a gym in their family’s garage during the first year of the pandemic. At age 14, she became a champion, record-setting powerlifter in West Virginia, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Her brother, meanwhile, had become enamored with strongman competitions, and she soon followed suit. She competed in her first strongwoman competition in 2021. 

“I competed in the women’s division, due to my brother’s recommendation, instead of the teen division. Of course, I got my butt kicked, but I fell in love with the sport either way,” she said. She persisted, and that same year, she took first in the teen division at a national strongwoman competition. “I had a large ambition at 15 of being the youngest woman to qualify to compete at world’s. I achieved this goal in 2022, competing on the world stage at only 16. Within the year, I also competed at another large national competition called Clash on the Coast. The following year in 2023, I returned to the world’s strongest woman contest to compete again.” And then, in 2024, she posted her world’s win. 

An Unexpectedly Perfect Place

Sharp followed her brother not only into strength competitions, but also to Shenandoah. “I had originally intended to wrestle in college, as this was something else I excelled at. I had an all-state title and had coaches scouting me,” she said. But, her brother convinced her to apply and she said she’d commit to the university if she was accepted into the early assurance DPT program. “I had, of course, heard great things about the program, both undergraduate and graduate, and knowing that I wanted to be a physical therapist, I decided I couldn’t pass up the opportunity if I made it into the program.”

Now, as a Shenandoah student, she stays active with her studies, a work-study position with Shenandoah Outdoor & Adventure Recreation, her membership in the backpacking club, taking swing dance classes on campus every other Thursday evening, and spending time with her brother, who lives locally and owns an e-commerce business. She said she also misses competing and “will likely find a local competition to train for within the next year.” She’s also been competing in Scottish Highland games for fun.

Sharp expects to earn her bachelor’s degree in exercise science in 2027 and then continue with her DPT studies after that, if all goes according to plan – and from what one can tell so far, her plans tend to work out.