Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effort of a barbell loaded with weight plates. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as "odd lifts", which followed the same three-attempt format but used a wider variety of events, akin to strongman competition. Eventually odd lifts became standardized to the current three.
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator/analyst, coach, and talent scout. He is best known for his 25-year career in WWE.
Riku Kiri is a Finnish former strongman and powerlifter, best known for competing in the World's Strongest Man competition, narrowly missing out on capturing the title on more than one occasion. He has been referred to as: "the strongest man never to win World's Strongest Man."
William Kazmaier is an American former world champion powerlifter, world champion strongman and professional wrestler. During the 1970s and 1980s, he set numerous powerlifting and strongman world records, and won two International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Championships and three World's Strongest Man titles. In the 1980s, Kazmaier became famous for his claim to be "the strongest man who ever lived" by equaling and surpassing spectacular and versatile feats of strength of famous strongmen of the 20th century. He is widely considered to be one of the all-time greatest competitors in strength competitions.
Donald C. Reinhoudt is an American former powerlifter and strongman. He won the IPF World Powerlifting Superheavyweight Championship four consecutive times (1973–1976), and won the World's Strongest Man in 1979.
Lamar Gant is an American world record-holding powerlifter. He competed with idiopathic scoliosis. He was inducted into the International Powerlifting Federation Hall of Fame in 1980.
Thomas Magee is a Canadian former world champion powerlifter and strongman competitor from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was also a professional wrestler from 1985–1990.
Edward "Ed" Ignatius Coan is an American powerlifter. He is widely regarded throughout the powerlifting world as the greatest powerlifter of all time. Coan has set over 71 world records in powerlifting.
Benedikt "Benni" Magnússon is an Icelandic strongman and powerlifter. He has held the raw deadlift world record since 2011 with 460.4 kg (1,015 lb). He also set the world record for the heaviest strongman deadlift in 2014 with 461 kg (1,016 lb), which stood until English strongman Eddie Hall lifted 462 kg (1,019 lb) the next year.
Stan "The White Rhino" Efferding is an American IFBB professional bodybuilder and a powerlifter competing in the Southern Powerlifting Federation (SPF). He held the all-time raw world powerlifting records in the 275-pound-class in the Total without knee wraps and in the Squat without knee wraps (854 lbs). Due to his enormous physical strength, regularly competing in professional powerlifting contests along his career in professional competitive bodybuilding, Efferding is often referred to as the "world's strongest bodybuilder".
Konstantīns Konstantinovs was a Latvian powerlifter of russian descent. His raw deadlift of 426 kg (939.2 lb), set in 2009, was formerly the heaviest raw deadlift, and was the world record for the 140 kg (308 lb) weight class until 2021.
Brian Cameron Siders is an American world champion powerlifter and regular participant in the Arnold Strongman Classic. Brian is regarded as one of the strongest men to ever walk the planet, especially in press-movements.
Truman Hugh Cassidy, better known as Hugh Cassidy, is an American metal sculptor, jazz musician, and former powerlifter who competed in powerlifting just prior to the formation of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). In 1971, he became U.S. National Powerlifting Champion as well as World Powerlifting Champion at the inaugural Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) World Championships, defeating the young soon-to-be all-time greats Jim Williams and John Kuc in the super heavyweight division.
Blaine Sumner is an American world champion powerlifter from Conifer, Colorado, currently residing in Gillette, Wyoming, United States.
Tyler Moore is an International Powerlifter for Team USA and is a competitor in the Men's Open Division. When Tyler was a teen, he was elected as Team USA's Jr Bench Press Team captain and won his first international title at the NAPF Bench Press Championships in 2011. Tyler is a member of the USAPL and competes in both, the equipped and RAW styles of Powerlifting. He is a two-time North American Bench Press Champion and holds 20 American Records. Moore became eligible for Pro competitions in the Fall of 2013 after winning his second international title.
James Talbot Williams was a record holder professional competitive powerlifter from the United States of America. He competed in powerlifting just prior to the formation of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). During the early 1970s he set numerous bench press national and world records in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). On November 9, 1972, he performed his greatest official bench press of 675 lbs, which is considered raw by today's standards. Since that day Jim Williams is officially the first man in history to bench press 300 kg (661.41 bs) in competition - since 1981 however, Bill Kazmaier is given credit for being the first person to bench press 300 kg after the formation of the IPF - the international governing body for the sport of powerlifting. By consistently pressing 650+ lbs raw and even touching 700+ lbs in training, Williams was without competition in his time and still is one of only 5-10 men in history who bench pressed in excess of 670 lbs officially.
Mikhail Viktorovich Sazonov is a Russian bodybuilder, and powerlifter, also known as Ignat Mihailov.
John Haack is an American powerlifter and chemist. He is the current world record holder in the raw 90 and 100 kilogram weight class. He set the previous 82.5 kg world record of 907.5 kg on August 3, 2019 at the age of 26 at the Tribute powerlifting meet in San Antonio, Texas. For this total, he squatted 312.5 kg, bench pressed 232.5 kg, and deadlifted 362.5 kg. This total beat his own previous records of 890 kg and 875 kg. The previous record holder in this weight class was Maliek Derstine, with a total of 862.5 kg on January 23, 2016.
Michael Hall is a retired American powerlifter, who is perhaps best known for being a pioneer of the drug-free movement in powerlifting. Hall is considered the first African American Super Heavyweight powerlifter to win a World Powerlifting Championship.
Deadlift world records are the international records in deadlift across the years, regardless of weight class or governing organization.
St. Paul, Minnesota United States