Meet Africa’s strongest woman - Zimbabwe's Chido Maenzanise: Video
Zimbabwean athlete Chido Maenzanise has been crowned Africa's Strongest Woman after winning the East-Rand Strongest Competition in South Africa last week, a milestone triumph in a sport long dominated by men.
Footage filmed on Thursday, November 6, shows Maenzanise returning to the gym, where she trains under the guidance of her coach, known as Black Moses, who encouraged and supported her throughout her journey.
Maenzanise first entered the fitness world in 2016 through aerobics and general conditioning, before being introduced to powerlifting in 2020. Just four months into her strength-training journey, she competed in her first national powerlifting event in Zimbabwe and took home gold, a moment she says transformed her self-belief.
"People, even my family and friends, didn't believe a woman could compete in this sport," she recalled. "The exercises require endurance, speed, and power. But my passion kept me going."
After claiming bronze in her maiden African Strongman competition and now securing the continent’s top female title, Maenzanise is setting her ambitions even higher.
"My focus is to be in the top ten in the world… I'm now believing I can also get the gold medal in the world,” she said.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
