Polish powerlifter Agata Sitko burst onto the competitive scene in 2021 at 18 years old. Her progress since then has been extraordinary. In that first year, she won the 2021 European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) Junior Equipped European Championships, took silver at the classic and equipped International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Junior World Championships, and scored gold at the 2021 Open Equipped World Championships. She broke IPF Junior world records 10 times in her first year, including classic and equipped bench press, deadlift, and total records.
Sitko’s best raw deadlift in competition is 240 kilograms (529 pounds), scored at both the 2022 World Junior Classic Championships and the 2023 World Classic Championships. On Oct. 10, 2023, Sitko shared a video on her Instagram page wherein she pulled that competition-best weight raw for two repetitions. Check it out below:
Sitko took a sniff from a bottle of ammonia salts before snapping her lifting belt closed and setting up in a wide sumo stance. She used a hook grip (fingers wrapped around the barbell and over the top of the thumb for additional grip security).
The first rep was tough to lock out, but the second seemed easier. Sitko attempted a third repetition but couldn’t break the floor. Nevertheless, she seemed pleased with the set.
A slight overshoot (was supposed to be 1 x 3 @9) but it’s a PR.
Sitko took silver at the 2023 IPF Classic World Championships in Malta with a 240-kilogram (529-pound) deadlift, so taking the weight for reps suggests excellent progress.
[Related: Heather Connor (47KG) Deadlifts 7.5 Kilograms More Than Current World Record In Training]
Sitko’s Accolades
After debuting in 2021, Sitko did not slow down in 2022 — if anything, she kicked into a higher gear, winning the EPF Junior Equipped Championships for the second time. She then competed in the 76-kilogram class at the IPF Classic World Championships and pushed world champion Jessica Buettner so hard that Buettner had to lock out a 261.5-kilogram (577-pound) deadlift — more than any women had ever done in the IPF up to that point — to beat Sitko on bodyweight. Sitko broke the IPF Open raw world records in the bench press and total at that contest and swept the board of Junior records.
A month later, Sitko competed equipped at The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, taking heavyweight gold, the overall best lifter award, and set the highest equipped GL point score that the IPF had ever seen at 119.12 GL points*.
*Note: The GL point formula is an attempt to compare the achievements of lifters of different body weights and is used by the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) and its affiliates.
Take a look at the 261-kilogram (575-pound) raw world record deadlift that Sitko finished her performance via the video below, courtesy of the IPF’s Instagram page:
Six weeks later, Sitko won the Classic Junior World title in Turkey and the equipped bench section of the UK Arnold Sports Festival shortly thereafter. Finally, in 2022, Sitko won the gold medal in the Open category at the European Classic. Truly, one of the most impressive starts to a career that the IPF has ever seen.
Sitko holds the Open equipped world records in the bench press (76-kilogram class), deadlift (76 and 84-kilogram classes), and total (76 and 84-kilogram classes) as well as the classic bench press world records in the 76 and 84-kilogram classes. Her Junior world records are legion.
Sitko is soon to compete at the 2023 EPF Girl Power Tournament in France, an all-female competition scored on GL points. The contest carries a first prize of 5,000 Euros (approx 5,270 US dollars) to the champion. Sitko is nominated for second place at this event with a GL score of 116.71. Only Jade Jacob‘s nominated 118.89 is higher.
The 2023 EPF Girl Power Tournament has an IPF sanction, so IPF world records can be broken. When it comes to breaking records, there seems to be no stopping the Polish powerhouse. Tune in to the FFForce YouTube channel on Oct. 22, 2023, where the event will be live-streamed for free.
Featured Image: @ja.gata_sitko on Instagram
