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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 powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator for AEW Rampage. He also performs duties as a coach and a talent scout. He is best known for his 25-year career in WWE where he was a two-time world champion. He is a two-time Olympian and a gold, silver, and bronze medalist at the Pan American Games in 1995. As a powerlifter, he was WDFPF World Champion (1995) and a two-time U.S. National Champion as well as an all-time raw world record holder in the squat and deadlift. Currently, he still holds the WDFPF world records in the squat, deadlift and total and the USAPL American record in the deadlift since 1995. He is credited for the biggest raw squat and raw powerlifting total ever performed by a drug tested athlete, regardless of weight class, as well as the greatest raw deadlift by an American citizen.
Scot Mendelson is an American armwrestler and powerlifter, who specializes in the bench press. He has broken multiple world records and is currently the raw (unassisted) world record holder in the 308-pound weight class with 701 lb (318 kg) bench press since 2002 and the equipped world record holder in the 275-pound class with 1,031 lb (468 kg) bench press since 2009. He also held the all-time world record in the raw bench press, regardless of weight class with 715 lb (324 kg) for 8 years. Working as a self-employed personal trainer, he runs his own gym called F.I.T.
Douglas Ivan Hepburn was a Canadian strongman and weightlifter. He won weightlifting gold medals in the 1953 World Weightlifting Championships as well as the 1954 British Empire Games in the heavyweight division. He is also known as the first man to bench press 400, 450, 500, and 550 pounds (raw). During the 1950s he was publicly known as the "world's strongest man" for his many feats of strength. Hepburn has been inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1953), Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1955), and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame (1966).
Paul Edward Anderson was an American weightlifter, strongman and powerlifter. He was an Olympic gold medalist, a world champion, and a two-time national champion in Olympic weightlifting. Anderson contributed significantly to the development of competitive powerlifting.
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.
Andrew Bolton is an English powerlifter and strongman who was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire.
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 holds the raw deadlift world record with a lift of 460.4 kg (1,015 lb) in 2011. He also set the world record for the heaviest strongman deadlift of 461 kg (1,016 lb) in 2014, which stood until 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".
Brad Gillingham is an American world champion powerlifter and strongman competitor from Minnesota, United States.
Blaine Sumner is an American world champion powerlifter from Conifer, Colorado, currently residing in Gillette, Wyoming, United States.
John Kuc is a former world champion powerlifter from the United States. During the 1970s and 80s, he set numerous powerlifting national and world records, won three International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) world championships and numerous national championships.
Jon Frederic Cole was a powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter and strongman from the United States. He competed in powerlifting just prior to the formation of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). Having set world records in the squat, deadlift and Total during his career, he was multiple times AAU US National Powerlifting Champion as well as an outstanding Olympic weightlifter, discus thrower and shot-putter. Being the "premier strongman" of the early 1970s for his overall excellence in powerlifting, Olympic lifting and strength-based track and field, Cole was at one time known as the "strongest man in the world" for holding the greatest combined powerlifting/weightlifting super total of all time. Jon Cole was not only officially the first man in history to total 2200 lbs, he also became the first man to squat over 900 lbs as well as the first to total 2300 lbs in competition on October 28, 1972. Today, he is enjoying legendary status in the powerlifting scene and is widely considered to be one of the all-time greatest powerlifters in the history of the sport. His lifts, which are considered as raw by today's standards, are still mostly unequaled in his weight class: He still holds the all-time greatest raw (unequipped) powerlifting totals in the 242 and the 308-pound division. While past his prime as a lifter, he competed in the first annual World's Strongest Man competition in 1977, where he finished in 6th place.
James Talbot Williams was a record holding 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.
John Haack is an American powerlifter and chemist. He is the current world record holder in the raw 82.5 kilogram weight class. He set the current 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.
Ray Orlando Williams is an American powerlifter, who currently holds the world record for the heaviest drug-tested, raw (unassisted/assisted) squat at 490 kg (1,080 lb).
References
- ↑ "900 Pound Unequipped Squat Hall of Fame | Powerlifting Watch". Archived from the original on 2006-11-07.
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