On July 17-18, 2021, the 2021 Metal Militia (MM) National Power Lifting Invitational took place at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, PA. Competing in the +90-kilogram weight class, powerlifter Rae-Ann Coughenour-Miller scored the heaviest female bench press of all time — 274.4 kilograms (605 pounds).
Coughenour-Miller took to her Instagram page to share a video of her historic lift and pull back the curtain on how unforeseen circumstances led to suboptimal preparation for the event. After deciding against “pulling out” of the event, she ultimately called for a weight on the barbell that had never before been bench-pressed by a female powerlifter. Check out the lift below, performed in a single-ply shirt:
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[Related: Julius Maddox Bench Presses 340 Kilograms Raw in Training — for Two Reps]
Experience has told me that unless you are risking injury you do the meet.
Good thing Coughenour-Miller decided to follow the wisdom of her experience. According to Open Powerlifting, her new 274.4-kilogram (605-pound) world record surpassed the previous world record in the super heavyweight category, held by Becca Swanson, by 1.9 kilograms. Swanson’s previous world record bench press of 272.5 kilograms (600.8 pounds) was scored at the 2008 American Powerlifting Federation (APF) Big Iron In-House Open on March 8, 2008. That record stood for 13 years and four months.
Per Coughenour-Miller, her prep for this meet was performed alone. Therefore, she could not train “heavy on assistance stuff” because she was not privy to a spotter. During her preparation, she “struggled” to lift 229.1 kilograms (505 pounds). Her opening lift at the MM National Power Lifting Invitational was 260.8-kilograms (575 pounds) — a weight she admittedly failed to lock out twice previously.
Going into the MM National Power Lifting Invitational, Coughenour-Miller’s previous all-time competition best bench press was a 258.5-kilogram (570-pound) lift at the 2020 MM Power Wars performed on April 10, 2021 — just three months before her new all-time world record.
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[Related: Powerlifter Leah Reichman Squats Equipped All-Time World Record of 399.1 Kilograms]
Since 2013, Coughenour-Miller has competed in 22 sanctioned powerlifting competitions. Of those, she has won gold in 18. Any event she has appeared in where she scored at least one successful attempt resulted in her standing atop the podium.
Coughenour-Miller is part of the Anderson Powerlifting athlete team alongside Jimmy Kolb, who recently scored the all-time heaviest bench press of 508 kilograms (1,120 pounds).
Featured image: @ingabenchpress on Instagram
