A St. Paul firefighter is one of 10 people taking part in the World’s Strongest Firefighter competition Saturday and she’s the only woman, but Sarah Reasoner’s focus is on making St. Paul proud.

“In my submission video, I pointed out that I don’t think my crew or the citizens of St. Paul care about gender or race — it’s who can show up and do their job the best, the safest,” Reasoner said Friday.

During the Arnold Strongman USA Championship in Santa Monica, Calif., Reasoner will take part in the firefighter competition, which is a charitable event that Arnold Schwarzenegger started last year to shine a light on the strength of firefighters.

Reasoner, who is 31 and became a St. Paul firefighter after graduating from the department’s academy in June, will be competing in four events at the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday.

There’s the log press with 170 pounds and the deadlift of 450 pounds — both are contests of who can do the most reps in one minute. The sandbag carry is 200 pounds, and the farmer’s walk is 200 pounds in each hand — both are tests of how far the participants can travel with the weights.

Reasoner was selected after submitting a video of herself and is the first woman to take part in the firefighter competition.

“We wanted to pick 10 people who could carry the same amount of weight, and Sarah lifted the same amount as the guys and earned her spot,” said Noah Justin, personal aide to Schwarzenegger.

Reasoner grew up playing sports and was on the track team at Calvin College (now university) in Grand Rapids, Mich., where she was an NCAA Div. III All-American in the shot put and discus and holds the school record in the shot put.

After graduating with an arts degree, Reasoner worked as a massage therapist and then spent about six years in retail and marketing. When she moved to the Twin Cities, “on a whim, I thought, ‘I should check and see if the fire department is hiring,’ ” said Reasoner, who grew up in Cambridge, Minn.

She attended a St. Paul Fire Department Women’s Expo. “I fell in love when I put the gear on,” Reasoner said.

Reasoner started bodybuilding a couple of years ago and then shifted into power lifting; she began taking part in Strongman competitions less than a year ago.

“I like it because it’s a little more of a functional fitness training,” Reasoner said. “Everyone likes to see who’s the strongest — that’s something people have been fascinated with for a long time.”

Saturday’s overall competition starts at 2 p.m. (Minnesota time) and there will be livestreams on the Arnold Sports Facebook page, and Rogue Fitness Facebook and YouTube sites.