French powerlifters have been consistently pumping out head spinning PRs lately. Recently Yanis Bouchou deadlifted an unofficial junior world record of 332.5kg/733lb and Prescillia Bavoil recently lifted 5kg/11lb above the current world record she holds.
Caroline Suné, who competes in the -57kg weight class, is following the trend by smashing her deadlift personal record to even her own surprise. Check out her 185kg/407lb pull below from her Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Z_KuUoQKY/
This lift is over three times the 33-year-old Suné’s competition bodyweight and she had to grind to lock it out at the top. This new PR also came right after she PR’d with a 180kg/397lb deadlift earlier in the training session.
Note: caption translated from French via Google Translate.
“After reaching 180kg, [Noémie Allabert] and [Kévin Batista] pushed me to try more!! Even if I overshoot, I thank them for encouraging me.”
Her best competition deadlift is a 172.5kg/380lb pull from the European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) 2019 Arnold Classic Europe last September. That means that this new PR is 12.5kg/27.5lb heavier than her best lift in competition.
Suné won the African Powerlifting Federation 2017 African Classic Championships with a 395kg/871lb total but has since missed gold in nine of her last ten competitive appearances — the outlier being the Fédération Française de Force (FFForce) meet in 2018, which was a squat only competition.
Before her streak of finishes off the podium, Suné had a pair of silver medal finishes from FFForce meets. But the adjustments she has made to her training are proving effective and might steer her back towards the podium.
Last week, Suné pushed past her competition best squat (165kg/364lb) with a 175kg/386lb after missing 178.5kg/393.5lb. Check it out below from her Instagram page:
Note: the first lift is the missed attempt at 178.5kg/393.5lb. Her successful 175kg/386lb lift is the second video.
Although there’s room for improvement, Suné is getting stronger and seems to be training smarter. When she is able to compete next, it would not come as a surprise if she and the podium are reacquainted.
Feature image via Caroline Suné’s Instagram page: @carosune
