Daniella Melo, 18, may be the strongest female teenager you see today (or this week). She puts up weight most athletes struggle with like it’s nothing. Melo competes in the 84kg weight class and has already built a strong powerlifting resume for her young age.
Her recent video features an easy 455 lb squat with a belt and what appear to be SBD knee sleeves. The current American world record for the 84kg weight class is 473 lbs and was set in 1998 by Jill Brown-Mills. Melo is only 18 lbs off the record and made 455 look easy.
The best part about the video – besides how easy she moved the weight – is the list of comments that followed. People are blown away, as they should be. Melo is only 18 years old and is closing in on an American squat record.
Her deadlift is equally as impressive, with her most recent video featuring an easy 475 lb pull. How easy was it? Her speed was unbroken and she finished the lift with a big smile that screams, “That was easy.”
Like the squat video, viewers seem blown away by how easy Melo made the lift look. If you already follow Melo, then the comments are no surprise to you. Last year, she took first for the -84kg weight class at the USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals in the Raw Teen 3 division and second in the Open division.
To give a little context into how strong Melo is for her weight class and age, her first place finish in the Raw Teen 3 division was 60kg ahead of second. Her final lifts were a 187.5kg (412.5 lb) squat, 100kg (220 lb) bench, 205kg (451 lb) deadlift, and 497.5kg (1,094 lb) total.
To top off her successful 2016, Melo has been invited to be part of the US National Raw Team to compete at the IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championship in Belarus this June.
Her 2016 was a great year and she’s already crushing 2017, so it looks like the skies the limit for this young powerlifter. Now the question is, when will she claim the American squat record?
Feature image from @daniellamelo Instagram page.
