The 2024 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Classic World Championships (CWC) is nearly upon us. The IPF’s flagship event will be held from June 15-23, 2024, in Druskininkai, Lithuania.
This competition will offer a route to qualify for the 2025 World Games. The top three in each weight class (48 total athletes) will be offered a place at the multi-sport event in Chengdu, China, in August 2025.
Additionally, spots at the UK’s big-money meet, the 2025 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships, which will be held on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, can be won. The exact details of Sheffield’s qualifications have yet to be announced. Still, it is thought that it will be similar to last year, when any world champion who achieved 95 percent of the IPF total world record secured a guaranteed place.
There is excitement and anticipation in every weight class this year. Here are some highlights from the men’s classes:
59KG Class Nominations
- Wascar Carpio (USA) — 638 kilograms
- Ivan Campano Diaz (Spain) — 602.5 kilograms
- Mohamed Elhamali (Libya) — 597.5 kilograms
Defending world champion Wascar Carpio is the favorite in this class. He was over 20 kilograms clear of his nearest rival at the 2023 CWC in Malta with a 625-kilogram total. His nomination is from the Powerlifting America (PA) Raw Nationals in March, where he did 13 kilograms more. He is edging ever closer to the deadlift world record, currently standing at 275 kilograms.
Last year’s silver medallist, Ivan Campano Diaz, hasn’t improved on the 602.5 kilogram total he achieved in Malta. He has struggled with his deadlift and lost kilograms as a result. He needs to solve that, as the fast-improving Mohamed Elhamali is right behind him.
66KG Class Nominations
- Jonathan Garcia (USA) — 715.5 kilograms
- Panagiotis Tarinidis (FRA) — 705 kilograms
- Joseph Jordan (ISV) — 690 kilograms
Jonathan Garcia did not attend the 2023 CWC due to health concerns but was the silver medallist in 2022 in Sun City, South Africa. In August 2023, however, he competed at the North American Regional Powerlifting Championships in the Cayman Islands, extending his squat world record to a whopping 275.5 kilograms.
His nomination is from his national championships, exceeding the current IPF total world record by five kilograms. He will be hard to beat.
Panagiotis Tarinidis is the defending world champion, but he must be at the top of his game to take the fight to Garcia. Tarinidis also needs to keep an eye on Joe Jordan.
Jordan competed in the 74KG class last year but has returned to the 66s this year. He is a strong contender for the podium. There are some big names behind him, too—this might well be the most stacked class.
74KG Class Nominations
- Austin Perkins (USA) — 839 kilograms
- Kjell Bakkelund (NOR) — 815 kilograms
- Tim Monigatti (NZL) — 789.5 kilograms
The big news in the 74KG class is that Austin Perkins is back. It’s been a few years since he last set foot on the IPF platform, but he looks set to decimate the IPF world records.
Perkins is the highest-ranked raw male athlete in the IPF on GL points, based on his performance at the 2024 PA Raw Nationals. His total at that meet was 24 kilograms above the total world record, and his squat was 29.5 kilograms above the squat world record. He is on a mission.
Kjell Bakkelund has been in the ascendant of late. Since December 2023, he has broken the total world record in this class four times, increasing it by 22.5 kilograms. He broke the deadlift world record twice in the same period, adding 12 kilograms.
At the moment, Tim Monigatti holds the squat world record. He only missed out on the gold medal last year on bodyweight. He will have an uphill battle this year, though, with Perkins and Bakkelund out front.
The 2023 world champion, Carl Johansson of Sweden, will not defend his title. He announced on his Instagram account that he pulled out due to injury.
83KG Class Nominations
- Russel Orhii (USA) — 860 kilograms
- Jurins Kengamu (GBR) — 823.5 kilograms
- Enahoro Asein (HUN) — 812.5 kilograms
There’s no two ways about it. Russel Orhii is a long way out in front. At the 2024 PA Raw Nationals, he totaled nearly 20 kilograms over the total world record. He is coming into this meet with high expectations.
Orhii is a two-time world champion and still holds the IPF squat world record at 320.5 kilograms. At his national championships, he squatted 330 kilograms, so one might not stand for much longer.
Second and third in the nominations, there is a re-match that keeps going around and around. Jurins Kengamu and Enahoro Asein have met on the platform many times. Asein was on top at the 2023 European Classic, having deadlifted an immense 380 kilograms to win on body weight. Kengamu took the European title back in 2024 in Croatia. Of course, Asein pulled the win — he nearly always does, but 399 kilograms proved to be a step too far.
93KG Class Nominations
- Brandon Pitre (USA) — 895 kilograms
- Gustav Hedlund (SWE) — 895 kilograms
- Carlos Petterson Grifith (GUY) — 875 kilograms
This will be Brandon Pitre’s debut IPF international competition. His total at the 2024 PA Raw Nationals was 895 kilograms, which exactly matches the total world record set by Gustav Hedlund at the 2024 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships (Sheffield 2024). That day’s work earned Hedlund a huge £30,000 (~$38,000) payout, and he will be looking to earn his place again next year.
Carlos Petterson Grifith isn’t too far behind. At Sheffield 2024, he broke the squat world record with 332.5 kilograms, only to see Gavin Adin snatch it back with 337 kilograms.
Keep an eye out for Emil Krastev. He is nominated with 872.5 kilograms but has done much more in training recently. He is a contender for the podium.
105KG Class Nominations
- Ashton Rouska (USA) — 941 kilograms
- Anatolii Novopismennyi (UKR) — 940 kilograms
- Abdulla Mohamed (LBY) — 920 kilograms
Ashton Rouska is another athlete back in the IPF after a long absence. He comes in at the top of the nominations, ahead of three-time world champion Anatolii Novopismennyi. Novopismennyi holds the squat and total world records, but Rouska has comfortably exceeded both in the past, while only 800 grams of body weight out of the weight class.
Abdulla Mohamed was the bronze medallist at the 2023 CWC but has tough opposition to the medal this year. The 2022 world champion, Emil Norling of Sweden, is right behind.
Keep an eye out for a new-wave British deadlifter: Sanchez Dillon. He holds the deadlift world record in this class with 391 kilograms. Dillon set the record at the UK Arnold in March 2024 and only narrowly missed an attempt at 411 kilograms.
120KG Class Nominations
- Bobb Matthews (USA) — 978.5 kilograms
- Tony Cliffe (GBR) — 952.5 kilograms
- Etienne El Chaer (LBN) — 926 kilograms
Bobb Matthews is nominated with his total from the 2024 PA Raw Nationals. This matches Dennis Cornelius’s total world record. Matthews posted taht total at 106.2 kilograms bodyweight, barely making it into the 120KG class.
Matthews faces Tony Cliffe, two-time world champion. Cliffe is a second-generation powerlifter; brought up in the sport. He just entered the Masters category at age 40. Even after over 20 years in the game, he is improving and getting stronger.
There is a tight cluster of nominations right behind. Etienne El Chaer took the 2023 Junior world title, just half a kilogram ahead of big bench presser Johan Wiendieck of Germany. They will face off again in Lithuania.
They have the 2022 world champion, Mohamed Sahad of Algeria, and the deadlift world record holder, Great Britain’s Inderraj Singh Dillon, within five kilograms of them. This will be quite the clash.
+120KG Class Nominations
- Jesus Olivares (USA) — 1,113 kilograms
- Temur Samkharadze (GEO) — 1,063.5 kilorgams
- Abdulrahman Mousa (LBY) — 1,035 kilograms
Jesus Olivares has been hailed as the strongest powerlifter on earth. He has the biggest raw total achieved in knee sleeves at 1,152.5 kilograms. He holds the IPF world records in the squat, deadlift, and total, and he has been the undisputed king of this class since bursting onto the world’s stage in Sweden at the 2021 CWC.
Temur Samkharadze is coming up fast. Maybe not fast enough to catch Olivares this time, but he is closing the gap at a rate of knots. Still a Junior, he already has the fourth-biggest raw total ever achieved in the IPF and holds the junior world records in deadlift and total. If anyone can challenge Olivares, it’s Samkharadze.
Abdulrahman Mousa missed the podium in 2023 and aims to move up this time, especially with World Games qualification on the line.
USA Clean Sweep?
On the men’s side, the top nomination in every class is from the USA. No team has ever taken the gold medal in every weight class in the history of the Classic World Championships. Team USA will try in 2024.
This promises to be one of the most exciting IPF World Championships ever. Watch the event live on The Olympic Channel and the IPF YouTube channel. Select sessions will be broadcast live on Eurosport. There will be highlights on Eurosport, Eurosport World, and CBS Sports.
Featured image: @russwole on Instagram
