How To Watch The 2023 EPF European Bench Press Championships

The seven day contest will feature raw and equipped lifting.

Last updated on July 19th, 2023

The European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) 2023 European Bench Press Championships will be held in Merignac, France, from July 31 to Aug. 6, 2023. Billed as the biggest festival of bench press in Europe, the contest will run for seven days with over 700 athletes on the roster. The first four days feature raw lifting before the baton is passed to the equipped lifters battling in single-ply bench shirts.

Every session of the contest will be streamed live and for free on the Goodlift TV YouTube channel and there promises to be some top notch viewing. Check out this 228 kilogram (503 pound) European Record from Bohdan Bon at last year’s event in the video below, courtesy of the EPF’s Instagram page:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by EPF Powerlifting (@the_epf_)

Athletes to Watch

Every weight class is packed with elite bench pressers, but here are some extra special athletes to look out for:

Ivan Chuprynko — current world champion and world record holder
Zuzanna Kula — equipped powerlifting world champion
Hildeborg Hugdal — heaviest female bench press in the IPF

Additionally, the raw women’s superheavyweight class promises to be a great battle with newcomer Matilda Hjälle taking on two veterans of the sport, Amélie Mierger and Ágnes Szabó. All three are nominated with either a 150-kilogram (331 pounds) or 152.5 kilograms (336 pounds) bench press, so set your alarm for that!

Competition Categories

All age categories will be included in this contest:

Sub-Junior — ages 14 – 18
Junior — ages 19 – 23
Open — any age
Masters 1 (M1) — ages 40 – 49
Masters 2 (M2) — ages 50 – 59
Masters 3 (M3) — ages 50 – 69
Masters 4 (M4) — ages 70+

Full Livestream Schedule

Note: All times CET. Schedule is subject to change.

Monday, July 31 — Classic Masters

M3 & M4 Men — 10:00 a.m.
Opening Ceremony — 1:30 p.m.
M3 & M4 Women & M2 Women up to 63KG — 2:30 p.m.
M2 Women 69KG and above — 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, August 1 — Classic Masters

M2 Men — 10:00 a.m.
M1 Women — 1:30 p.m.
M1 Men — 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, August 2 — Classic Juniors

Sub-Junior Women — 10:00 a.m.
Sub-Junior Men — 1:00 p.m.
Junior Women — 3:30 p.m.
Junior Men — 6.30 p.m.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by EPF Powerlifting (@the_epf_)

Thursday, August 3 — Classic Open

Open Men up to 93KG & Special Olympics — 9:00 a.m.
Open Women up to 63KG — 12:15 p.m.
Open Women 69KG and above — 2:30 p.m.
Open Men 105KG and above — 5.00 p.m.

Friday, August 4 — Equipped Masters

M3 & M4 Men — 10:00 a.m.
M2 Men — 1:30 p.m.
M2, M3, & M4 Women — 4:00 p.m.
M1 Women — 7.00 p.m.

Saturday, August 5 — Equipped Masters & Juniors

Sub-Junior and Junior Men — 10:00 a.m.
Sub-Junior and Junior Women — 2:00 p.m.
M1 Men – 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, August 6 — Equipped Open

Open Women — 10:00 a.m.
Open Men & Special Olympics — 1:30 p.m.

The lifters are ranked on their nominated totals, which represent the athlete’s best result in the last year. The full roster with nominated totals is available on Goodlift at http://goodlift.info/live.php.

Feature image from @the_epf_ Instagram page.