St. Paul firefighter, the sole woman in the competition, is fifth 'strongest' in nation

Sarah Reasoner's Instagram moniker is Wonderwoman. On Saturday, in Santa Monica, Calif., the first-year St. Paul firefighter competed like a superhero.

Reasoner finished fifth out of nine finalists in the 2020 World's Strongest Firefighter competition. She was the only woman to compete in the event.

"She's kind of unbelievable," event spokesman Brent LaLonde said Monday. "She was really kind of the star of the show."

Reasoner was traveling Monday and unavailable for comment. In an Instagram post over the weekend, Reasoner wrote: "I will never forget today. The support and love from everyone was unreal. I got to compete alongside 9 of my brothers for the World's Strongest Firefighter at @arnoldsports USA … So much to say, but for now I'll say thank you to everyone who reached out to me and cheered, to all my amazing brothers I competed with today."

One of seven women to graduate from St. Paul's 2019 Fire Academy, Reasoner has been working at firehouses throughout the city since July.

The firefighter competition is a charity event started by bodybuilder, film star and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to shine a spotlight on the strength that firefighters must have to perform physically demanding tasks. The World's Strongest Firefighter competition is part of the Arnold Strongman USA Championship, held on the Santa Monica Pier.

Athletes in the firefighter competition are selected randomly, a Strongman spokesman said, but all must meet the same minimum strength standards to qualify for the competition.

The events were a 170-pound log press, a 450-pound dead lift, a 200-pound sandbag carry and a 200-pound farmer's walk. Reasoner placed third in the sandbag carry, toting it 260 feet, and finished fifth in the dead lift, with 10 repetitions.

In her Instagram post, the 6-foot, 200-pound Reasoner thanked Schwarzenegger for "getting up and yelling at me and helping me up after the sandbag carry."

Ben Gallaher, a firefighter from Kern County, Calif., was the winner.

James Walsh • 612-673-7428