The United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) Hybrid Showdown 4 took place at the Hybrid Performance Method Gym in Miami, FL, on Jan. 15-16, 2022, and featured several of the top powerlifters on the planet competing across several weight classes. The contest ranked athletes via the Dynamic Objective Team Scoring System (DOTS), which scores athletes’ lifts based on their body weight so that lifters in different weight classes can be compared against one another.
It should come as no surprise that the all-time world record holder in the 90-kilogram class John Haack took down the title for the men, but Blake Lehew finished as the runner-up and scored a new all-time raw world record total in the 82.5-kilogram weight class. Here was Lehew’s full performance from the meet:
2022 USPA Hybrid Showdown — Blake Lehew | Bodyweight: 82.3 kilograms (181.4 pounds)
- Squat
- 285 kilograms (628.3 pounds)
- 295 kilograms (650.4 pounds)
- 300 kilograms (661.4 pounds)
- Bench Press
- 212.5 kilograms (468.5 pounds)
- 220 kilograms (486 pounds)
- 227.5 kilograms (501.6 pounds)
- Deadlift
345 kilograms (760.6 pounds)- 345 kilograms (760.6 pounds)
- 382.5 kilograms (843.3 pounds) — All-Time Full Meet Raw World Record*
- Total — 910 kilograms (2,006.2 pounds) — All-Time Raw World Record
Lehew’s performance was a perfect six for six heading into the deadlift. He missed his first deadlift attempt at 345 kilograms (760.6 pounds) but successfully hit it on his second attempt. He then locked out a staggering 382.5-kilogram (843.3-pound) third attempt to claim the all-time deadlift (full meet) and total world records at 82.5 kilograms. This total ties the raw with wraps world record that Lehew scored at the 2021 Kern US Open.
*the all-time world record deadlift in the 82.5-kilogram class is 405 kilograms (892.9 pounds) by Dmitry Nasonov.
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Blake Lehew’s Performance
By his admission in the caption of his Instagram post that shared his lift scores, Lehew did not have world record expectations heading into the Hybrid Showdown 4. Due to “intermittent knee pain” that limited his squat training in combination with starting his own business on top of his programming in the gym, cracking Haack’s previous all-time world record deadlift of 362.5 kilograms (799.2 pounds) and world record total of 907.5 kilograms was only partially on his radar.
I knew the strength for 2k was there with a mixture of possible scenarios but I still didn’t expect the day to go as well as it did.
Not only was Lehew’s deadlift a whopping 20 kilograms (44.1 pounds) more than the previous all-time world record, it is 4.65 times his bodyweight. He walked away with $7,500 in prize money and a silver medal for his 617.277 DOTS score — 13.953 points behind Haack.
Featured image: @deadliftingorangutan on Instagram
