The second edition of the ABS Series Clash of the Titans contest occurs on April 20, 2024, in Dublin, Ireland. The 2023 edition featured 10 heavyweight powerlifters competing for the biggest total. The competition format does not employ weight classes or formulas; rankings are determined simply by the most weight lifted.
USA’s Fernando Arias won the 2023 ABS Clash of the Titans with a 1,035-kilogram total. The 2024 contest seems like a much heavier total will be needed to emerge victorious, especially with Dan Bell on the roster.
Bell holds the all-time raw (with wraps) world record total at a colossal 1,182.5 kilograms, scored at the 2021 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) Hybrid Showdown 3 in Florida. Although Bell has not hit those numbers since, he remains a formidable opponent and is surely the athlete to beat.
ABS Clash of the Titans 2 — Roster
- Dan Bell (USA) — biggest total — 1,182.5 kilograms
- Fernando Arias (USA) —biggest total 1,077.5 kilograms
- Dave Richardson (UK) — biggest total 1070 kilograms
- Nicolaas du Preez (South Africa) — biggest total 1052.5 kilograms
- Connor Marston (UK) — biggest total 1,022.5 kilograms
- Łukas Klugiewicz (Poland) — biggest total 965 kilograms
- Konrad Blewązka (Poland) — biggest total 1000 kilograms
- Marcin Gierczak (Poland) — biggest total 977.5 kilograms
- Konrad Bronicki (Poland) — biggest total 971 kilograms
- Tómas Darri Þorsteinsson (Iceland) – biggest total 950 kilograms
- Ben Flawith (UK) — biggest total 942.5 kilograms
- Tom Smith (UK) — biggest total 940 kilograms
- Eamonn Harford (Ireland) — biggest total 930 kilograms
- Rob Flett (UK) — biggest total 907.5 kilograms
[Related: Sarah Rainbow (+90KG) Hits Biggest Female Raw w/Wraps Total Ever of 775 Kilograms]
The event is billed as the strongest platform in Europe and it certainly looks like a gargantuan total will be required to make the podium. Bell is the clear favorite, but Arias, Richardson, and du Preez will pose a significant challenge.
During the event, Dave Richardson and Fernando Arias are set to attempt the biggest conventional deadlift ever achieved in a full power meet. While OpenPowerlifting makes no distinction between conventional and sumo deadlifts, the two heaviest deadlifts registered are both from sumo pullers — Danny Grigsby’s top-ranked 487.5-kilogram lift and Jamal Browner’s second-place 460-kilogram pull were both performed in a sumo stance.
The third-ranked deadlift — Benedikt Magnusson‘s 442.5 kilograms — was performed in a conventional stance. Although he is better known as a strongman, Magnusson competed in powerlifting extensively over a 20-year period, scoring some incredible weights along the way.
Richardson has a competition-best deadlift of 420 kilograms, but he recently locked out 430 kilograms in training and looks on course for the record.
Arias lifted 427.5 kilograms at the 2023 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) American Pro 2. He hasn’t shared any big deadlift singles from his preparation for Clash of the Titans 2, so it’s difficult to determine how close he might be.
To see the lifts at the ABS Clash of the Titans 2 and whether the all-time conventional deadlift record will fall, watch the event live on the ABS Powerlifting YouTube channel on April 20, 2024.
Featured image: @powerlifting_series on Instagram
