The record books were not prepared for the mayhem of strength that was the American Powerlifting Federation (APF) Cincinnati Women’s Pro/Am on April 11, 2021. Jessica Springer, competing in the 90-plus kilogram weight class, furthered her unblemished professional record with an all-time world record deadlift of 285.8 Kilograms (630 Pounds) raw.
According to Open Powerlifting, this lift bested the previous world record of 275 kilograms (606.3 pounds) hit by powerlifter and strongwoman Sara Schiff at the 2019 Southern Powerlifting Federation (SPF) Slingshot Record Breakers. If you have not yet seen Springer’s shocking deadlift, you can check it out below courtesy of her Instagram page:
View this post on Instagram
[Related: Powerlifter Jaclyn Cornwell Hits All-Time World Record Squat — 258.5 Kilograms at 67.5KG]
…the best day I’ve had on the platform.
Here were Springer’s stats from the event (from the Women’s Pro/Am site):
- Squat — 279 kilograms (615 pounds)
- Bench Press — 188.2 kilograms (415 pounds)
- Deadlift — 285.8 Kilograms (630 Pounds) — all-time world record
- Total — 753 kilograms (1,660 pounds)
For context as to how impressive Springer’s overall performance was, in addition to her world record deadlift, her bench press was 12 kilograms shy of April Mathis‘s world record of 200 kilograms (440.9 pounds). Her total was 19.5 kilograms (43 pounds) shy of Mathis’s total world record of 772.5 kilograms (1,703.1 pounds).
Before her new ATWR deadlift, Springer had the second heaviest deadlift of all time — a 272.5-kilogram (600.8-pound) lift from the 2019 United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) Power Surge Pro Day.
[Related: Strongwoman Andrea Thompson Just Keeps Breaking World Records]
The 600-Pound Deadlift Milestone
The number of female athletes who have deadlifted at least 272.1 kilograms (600 pounds) in competition can be counted on one hand. In 2017, Crystal Tate was the first woman to deadlift 272.1 kilograms raw in the 90-kilogram division. There’s Mathis, of course, and Samantha DiBois, who also competes in the 90-plus kilogram class and has a competition best lift of 272.1 kilograms.
There are also strongwomen to consider. In addition to Schiff, Andrea Thompson and Kristen Rhodes broke through the 600-pound benchmark at the Rogue Record Breaker event featured during the 2020 Arnold Sports Festival (ASF). Rhodes pulled 279.4 kilograms (616 pounds), and Thompson pulled 281.7 kilograms (621 pounds). Thompson has since furthered the strongwoman deadlift record to 290 kilograms (639.3 pounds)
Thompson and Rhodes’ lifts were done on the Rogue Elephant Bar, which is different from a standard barbell used by Springer, but the lifts are still comparable by weight. It’s worth noting that strongman and strongwomen competitions allow lifting straps and hitching — powerlifting meets don’t.
The heaviest deadlift by a female athlete ever filmed might be Becca Swanson‘s 305-kilogram (672-pound) lift, though there isn’t much context around the footage of that lift (such as what event it was at and is her lockout stable enough).
Springer Stands Tall
Springer has ventured to where no other female powerlifter has before with this new all-time world record deadlift. Including the APF Cincinnati Women’s Pro/Am, she has competed in nine sanctioned powerlifting meets and has yet to walk away with anything other than gold. With her numbers landing so dangerously close to Mathis’s world records for the bench press and squat, it is possible that Springer could open the record books for some edits again soon.
Featured image: @springerj46 on Instagram
