The men’s -66kg class has wrapped up at the International Powerlifting Federation’s World Championships, and it was one for the ages. The lift that really gained steam on social media was this mighty deadlift from French athlete Hassan El Belghiti, who pulled 297.5 kilograms (665.9 pounds) — at least 4.5 times his bodyweight.
Raw quadruple bodyweight deadlifts are pretty rare occurrence, and 4.5 times bodyweight even moreso. Take a look below.
[Watch the first ever 5x bodyweight deadlift ever made at IPF Worlds from earlier this week.]
This was a world record, upending junior powerlifter Clifton Pho’s world record from just four days earlier. Pho pulled 285.5 kilos (629.4 pounds) and set a new record in the junior and open categories, beating his own open record by 500 grams.
El Belghiti broke it by 14 kilograms (30.9 pounds). He now holds the world record in the classic and equipped categories, having pulled a whopping 317.5 kilograms (700 pounds) at the European Equipped Powerlifting Championships in May.
The -66kg class also saw a world record squat by American athlete Charles Okpoko, who made a lift of 253 kilograms (557.8 pounds). This squat beat the previous record by three kilograms (6.6 pounds).
[Read Charles Okpoko’s advice for new lifters in our interview with him here!]
He also set a USAPL bench press record and an open world record total, writing on Instagram,
There’s so much to say but I’ll try to keep this short. I thank God for blessing me with the opportunity to do what I love and excel at it. (…) I definitely didn’t get to this point alone. (…)
Meet Recap:
🔸Squat (2/3) 253kg Open IPF World Record 🥇
🔹Bench (3/3) 167.5kg Open USAPL American Record🥈
🔻Deadlift (3/3) 267.5kg Personal Record 🥉
♦️Total (8/9) 688kg Open IPF World Record 🥇
That total beat the previous IPF open record by 8 kilograms. Congrats to both of these phenomenal athletes.
Related: Romanian Deadlift Form
Featured image via @theipf on Instagram.