Anytime a lifter can deadlift 600-plus pounds in the gym, it will get attention. However, it isn’t often that someone pulls that kind of weight before being legally allowed to drive a car. For 15-year-old Morgan Nicholls, it looked like any other training day. On Apr. 25, 2022, Nicholls posted a video deadlifting 274.3 kilograms (605 pounds) raw on his Instagram page.
Everything feeling good took 605 for a ride for a new PR.
Nicholls stood in a conventional stance and used a mixed grip on the barbell. He didn’t use lifting straps, opting only to wear a lifting belt. The massive pull, which Nicholls claims is his best yet, can be seen below:
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Nicholls had a consistent motion during the concentric portion of the lift, and he held it briefly before lowering it to the floor. Had Nicholls been in a sanctioned meet, he would’ve claimed a raw world record in the 90-kilogram class, where he most recently competed, exceeding Arslan Bochkaryov’s current world record by over 20 kilograms.
According to Open Powerlifting, the raw deadlift world record in the men’s Teen 13-15 age division is 275 kilograms (606.3 pounds) by Cole Lewis in the 82.5-kilogram class. Lucas Walton, at 110-kilograms, hit an all-time raw world record 280-kilogram (617.3-pound) pull at the 2018 USPA Multi-Ply National Championships & American Push-Pull Open, though it was notably not a full-power meet.
This isn’t the first time Nicholls set social media ablaze with a big lift. The high school running back also bench pressed 183.6 kilograms (405 pounds) in January of 2021. That would’ve been the second heaviest raw bench press ever in the Teen 13-15 division had it been in competition, behind Collin Grebel’s 205-kilogram (452-pound) press from the 2014 APF Gary Pendergrass Memorial Meet.
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[Related: Krzysztof Wierzbicki (110KG) Deadlifts 490 Kilograms (1,080.3 Pounds) In Training]
Those who follow bodybuilding may be familiar with Nicholls because of his family ties within that sport. His mom is four-time Ms. Olympia winner Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls, one of the most dominant bodybuilders of the 1990s. Nicholls’ father is longtime coach and nutritionist Chad Nicholls, who has worked with many of bodybuilding’s best, including current Mr. Olympia Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, and four-time Arnold Classic Champion Flex Wheeler.
Morgan’s dad shared the same video on his Instagram feed as well:
Just another day in the office with the boys…[Morgan Nicholls] hitting a new deadlift PR 605 heavy ass pounds.
Morgan’s 18-year-old brother, Domenic, is pursuing competitive bodybuilding soon. When Morgan Nicholls decides to step back onto the competitive powerlifting platform next, his chances of success seem stellar, given how he’s lifting in the gym.
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