Powerlifter Chad Penson broke the all-time world record for the squat in the 100-kilogram division in the raw with wraps class. He scored a successful 419.5-kilogram (924.8-pound) lift at the 2022 WRPF American Pro, held on the weekend of July 29-30 in Manassas, VA. The full summary of his performance is below:
2022 WRPF American Pro — Chad Penson | 100KG
- Squat — 419.5 kilograms (924.8 pounds) — All-Time World Record
- Bench Press — 230 kilograms (507.1 pounds)
- Deadlift — 337.5 kilograms (744.1 pounds)
- Total — 987.5kilograms (2,177.1 pounds)
Penson’s total was the third heaviest in history, behind John Haack‘s 990 kilograms (2,182.6 pounds) and Yury Belkin‘s 1,066 kilograms (2,350.1 pounds). Check out all three big lifts by Penson at the 2022 WRPF American Pro in the video below, courtesy of his Instagram page:
View this post on Instagram
[Related: 73-Year-Old Powerlifter Mary Duffy (56KG) Trap Bar Deadlifts 250 Pounds with 50-Pound Chains Raw]
Penson weighed in at 99 kilograma (218 pounds). He actually set the new record on his second attempt of the day. For the lift, he wore a weight belt and knee wraps, the latter of which were applied by 125-kilogram competitor and coach Andy Huang. The bigger story may be what happened after he set the record.
Penson wanted to attempt 432.5 kilograms (953.6 pounds) for his third attempt, but the barbell was misloaded by 50 kilograms. He actually stepped under 482.5 kilograms (1,063.7 pounds) instead, not knowing the bar was misloaded until after the fact. As you can see in the post below, Penson wasn’t able to maintain stability under the load once he reached the bottom of the attempt.
View this post on Instagram
[Related: Mike O’Hearn and C.T. Fletcher Decipher Motivation vs. Passion]
After the misload was discovered, Penson was offered another opportunity to try the correct weight, but he declined. As he wrote in the caption of the post, he’s looking at this as a positive going forward in spite of feeling the effects of the error after the meet.
This lift hurt me pretty bad, BUT, I’m proud of how I picked it and handled it for the most part. Posting this for motivation to kill a grand soon…60 pounds lighter should be a lot easier than this right?
According to Open Powerlifting, this was Penson’s first meet as a 100-kilogram competitor. He previously made a name for himself in the 90-kilogram class, including by totaling 11 times his bodyweight and claiming the world records in both the squat and total. He is the first 90-kilogram competitor to squat 400 kilograms with wraps.
Penson was one of multiple competitors to set records in Virginia at the WRPF meet. Tamara Walcott (+90 kilograms) set all time world records in the deadlift and total. 125-kilogram competitor Danny Grigsby pulled a massive 487.5 kilograms (1,074.5 pounds) to take the all time world record in the deadlift.
Featured image: @kingpensonlifts on Instagram