Mom and daughter kettlebell champions lead in sport focusing on strength and endurance
Johns Creek residents, Urmila (Urmi) Tawar and her 11-year-old daughter Arya Negre are champions. And not just champions, but world record holders. Over the last few years, both have been competing in Kettlebell Sport Championships as part of the International Kettlebell Marathon Federation’s (IKMF) Team USA.
About competitive kettlebell
In traditional kettlebell sport, lifts are five to 10 minutes long, but the IKMF features longer lifts: 30 minutes and one-hour lifts where an athlete chooses their time and lifts for the specified time without putting the bell(s) down.
An additional lift, called a Pentathlon, is a mix of six special lifts performed in order, with the athlete lifting for six minutes and resting for five minutes between each set.
Urmi shared that she and other kettlebell athletes had been traveling to different European countries to compete. But after many years of trying, they finally brought the international competition to the U.S.
That event was held in Syracuse, NY in May of this year, and a total of 86 athletes competed as part of Team USA.
“Team USA also secured the overall 1st place position in the medal tally,” she added.
Finding their way to the sport
Urmi was new to kettlebells when she moved to Georgia in 2017, but not to sports and competition. She had played volleyball and table tennis in college, winning several competitions before graduating with a PhD in biomedical sciences.
She was introduced to the basics of kettlebell here, when she signed up for a class at CrossFit Johns Creek after settling into the community.
“I competed in KB sport in 2017 as just a fun competition that was held at our gym,” she shared. “In 2020, during COVID, the entire KB community started hosting competitions online, and I loved participating.”
As Urmi began winning many of those competitions, she was approached by Team USA.
“I was discovered by the Team USA captain and have been part of the USA delegation since 2021, traveling to France, Belgium and Hungary and winning multiple gold, silver and one bronze over the years in different lifts,” she said.
Inspired by her mom, Arya also began training in kettlebell sport and entered her first competition in Hungary in 2023 as part of Team USA when she was just eight years old. Though she didn’t make the podium that year, Arya trained hard and won gold in Belgium the following year and also set an impressive world record in Pentathlon — all at the age of nine.
Injury, recovery and new world records
In April 2025, Urmi broke her leg and underwent two surgeries in six months because of it. Healing from that temporarily put a stop to the travel and competition. But it didn’t stop her from planning a perfect comeback.
This year, recovered and stronger than ever, she competed in two events, both 30-minutes long — one single KB event (securing 2nd place) and one double KB, where she came in first.
Arya also competed in two events this year: a 30-minute One Arm Half Snatch challenge where she lifted a combined 6,138 lbs. overhead and a double KB Pentathlon. She won gold in both of them and set a new world record for her age group in the half snatch.
Urmi shared a few more of the titles she’s accumulated over the last few years. Competing in several extreme KB marathons, she holds two world records there: one in two-hour nonstop KB lifting in 2024 and the other in three-hour KB lifting in 2025.
Pushing forward, giving back
In the past, Urmi has completed her world record lifts in Syracuse, with the KB group there. But this year, she kept the marathon competition close to home in a six-hour lift event at CrossFit Johns Creek.
Held on July 11, she used the opportunity not just to attempt a new world record, but to raise funds for organizations that help vulnerable teens. Her six-hour lift was for “the first-ever record by any individual (male or female) of any age or body weight category,” she explained.
Yes, she set a new world record that day: lifting a combined 89,000 lbs. overhead in the six-hour One Arm Jerk Extreme Marathon. She also raised over $600 for Will to Live and The Trevor Project.
Kettlebell classes and upcoming events
In between marathons and lift competitions, Urmi helps others find their own path to fitness and strength. She earned her kettlebell coaching certification in 2019. Now, as an advanced kettlebell coach at CrossFit Johns Creek, where she got her start in the sport, her classes have clients ranging in age from 11 years old to 83 years old.
“Kettlebells are for everyone and every level of fitness,” she said. “They are a great tool to build strength and endurance and improve mobility.”
The next big kettlebell event will be the Jingle Bells Kettlebell Sport Competition, held at the Johns Creek CrossFit location in December. A date hasn’t been set yet, but information will be posted on the website and the gym’s social media pages in coming months.
In the meantime, both mom and daughter plan to continue training, get stronger and prepare for future competitions and the opportunity to break even more world records in the sport they love.
To learn more about kettlebell and classes at CrossFit Johns Creek, visit crossfit-johnscreek.com.
For more about the International Kettlebell Marathon Federation, visit ikmf-world.com.
