For years, Anastasia Korableva has had to endure comments about her appearance. Her muscularity even led some people to publicly question her gender identity, something the Romanian bodybuilder firmly rejected.
But while others debated what a woman should look like, she decided to focus on something much more important: competing and winning.
Korableva began weight training at 17, after being bullied for being too thin. What began as a way to change her body eventually turned into a professional career in bodybuilding.
Last weekend, in Bucharest, she achieved one of the biggest results of her career. Korableva won the Alina Popa Classic Pro 2026, defeating Hungary’s Alida Opre and Italy’s Nadia Capotosto, and earned direct qualification for Ms. Olympia 2026, the most important stage in women’s bodybuilding.
And her message in response to the criticism has been clear. In 2023, she responded to those who questioned her identity: “My name is Anastasia and I am a woman. I was born a woman”.
She has also said that some people may think she has “disfigured” herself, but other people’s opinions do not determine who she is or what she has chosen for her life.
Now she will have the opportunity to compete against the best in the world in Las Vegas.
The comments about her appearance may continue. She has already responded where it matters: onstage.