Naomi Kutin
Naomi Kutin earned the nickname “Supergirl” and set the weightlifting record for her weight class … at age ten. The daughter of power lifter Ed Kutin, Naomi began lifting weights with her parents’ supervision at age eight and competed later that year in the lowest women’s weight class, 97 pounds (when she began competing, she weighed only 75 pounds). In March 2012 she set the world record for squat-lifting almost 215 pounds, and the following year set a new record for lifting 226 pounds. An Orthodox Jew, Kutin wore a modest unitard to compete and brought kosher food on the road to competitions. A Kickstarter campaign for a documentary about Kutin and her family was funded in 2016. The documentary, Supergirl, explores her athletic career, her family, her Jewish identity, and the issues, including bullying, that she encountered as a girl who defies convention. Kutin attended Rutgers University, from which she will graduate in May 2024, and competed on its weightlifting team. She plans to pursue a career in social work.