The International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) 2023 World Equipped Powerlifting Championships (WEC) are fast approaching. The long-running contest will take place over six days in Druskininkai, Lithuania, starting on Nov. 13, 2023.
Eighty-five women and 110 men from all over the world are on the roster. Every single session will streamed live and for free on The Olympics YouTube channel and on the IPF Facebook page.
Athletes to Watch
Below are athletes who are likely to make an impact in Lithuania:
Kostiantyn Musiienko (Ukraine) — 93KG Class
Kostiantyn Musiienko is the top-ranked equipped powerlifter in the IPF. At the 2022 WEC, he set a GL score of 115.54 — more than any other male powerlifter has done in IPF-equipped history. GL points is a formula designed to compare lifters across different bodyweight categories used by the IPF and its affiliates.
Musiienko was Sub-Junior world champion in 2015 and Junior world champion in 2017, 2018, and 2019. At the 2022 WEC in Viborg, Denmark, Musiienko finally took the top step of the podium in the Open category. He is well-known as a big bench presser. In the 93-kilogram class, he has pressed 40 kilograms (88 pounds) more than anyone else in the IPF and holds the world record with a monstrous 351.5 kilograms (775 pounds).
Sonja Stefanie Krüger (Germany) — 76KG Class
Sonja Stefanie Krüger is another lifter who has made her way up through the ranks of Sub-Junior, then Junior world champion, finally achieving the Open title in 2022. She holds the squat world record in the 69-kilogram class at 260 kilograms (573 pounds) and the 76-kilogram class at 280.5 kilograms (618 pounds).
Krüger also holds the bench press world record in the 69-kilogram class with a massive 182.5 kilograms (402 pounds) and is leading the class on nominations. However, she faces Norway’s Marte Elverum this year and will need to build as big a sub-total as she can to defend against Elverum’s huge deadlift.
Jarosław Olech (Poland) — 74KG Class
17-time world champion Jarosław Olech is a legend of the sport. He won his first Open world title in 2003 in Denmark and has competed at every WEC since then. Nearly 50 years old, he is still leading the 74-kilogram class. He holds the squat world record with 370 kilograms (816 pounds) and the total world record with 908 kilograms (2,002 pounds).
Olech last won the title in 2018, but Kjell Bakkelund, the current world champion and the only athlete to beat Olech on the world stage in the last 20 years, will not compete in Lithuania. This may give Olech the opportunity to take gold once again.
Rhaea Stinn (Canada) — 84KG class
Rhaea Stinn is one of the top female bench pressers in the IPF. Only two women in the IPF have ever benched more — both superheavyweights. Stinn has broken the 84-kilogram class’ bench press world record a whopping eight times, culminating in a 228-kilogram (503-pound) press at the 2022 WEC.
Not just a bench press specialist, Stinn has won the powerlifting world title in the 84-kilogram class for the last three years. She also won gold at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, AL. She is at the top of her game and is widely expected to make it four consecutive wins.
Full Livestream Schedule
Author’s Note: All times CET. Schedule is subject to change.
Monday, November 13
- Opening ceremony — 12:30 p.m
- Men 59KG — 1:00 p.m
- Women 47KG & 52KG — 4:00 p.m
Tuesday, November 14
- Men 66KG — 11:00 a.m
- Women 57KG — 2:00 p.m
- Men 74KG — 6:00 p.m
Wednesday, November 15
- Men 83KG — 10:00 a.m
- Men 93KG & Women 63KG ‘B’ Groups — 2:30 p.m
- Men 93KG & Women 63KG ‘A’ Groups — 7:00 p.m
Thursday, November 16
- Women 69KG — 1:00 p.m
- Men 105KG — 5:00 p.m
Friday, November 17
- Women 76KG — 11:00 a.m
- Men & Women Special Olympics — 2:30 p.m
- Men 120KG — 5:00 p.m
Saturday, November 18
- Women +84+KG & Men 120+KG ‘B’ Group — 1:00 p.m
- Women 84KG & +120KG class ‘A’ Group — 5:20 p.m
The full roster with nominated totals is available on Goodlift.
Feature image from @theipf Instagram page.
