The 2023 European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) European Equipped Championships is scheduled for May 2-7 in Thisted, Denmark. It is one of the single-ply contest highlights on the EPF’s calendar and promises some big-name action. The competition starts with three days of Junior (ages 19-23) and Sub-Junior (ages 14-18) categories before the Open classes take to the lifting platform.
How To Watch the 2023 EPF Equipped Championships
The EPF provides a livestream on its YouTube channel and will stream every session of the competition. The action can also be viewed on the EPF’s Facebook page. Below is a contest schedule:
Note: all scheduled times below are Central European Time.
Tuesday, May 2
- Sub-Junior Women — 10:00 a.m.
- Sub-Junior Men — 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 3
- Junior Men | up to 93KG — 10:00 a.m.
- Junior Women — 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 4
- Junior Men | 105KG and above — 10:00 a.m.
Friday, May 5
- Open Women | up to 57KG — 10:00 a.m.
- Open Men | up to 83KG — 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 6
- Open Women | 63KG and 69KG — 10:00 a.m.
- Open Men | 93KG and 105KG — 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 7
- Open Women | 76KG and above — 10:00 a.m.
- Open Men | 120KG and above — 3:00 p.m.
The full roster and nominated totals can be seen on Goodlift: http://goodlift.info/nominations.php.
Below are breakdowns of notable athletes to keep an eye on during the competition.
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Men’s Divisions
Below are three figures to expect big performances from in the Men’s categories.
Kostiantyn Musiienko — 93KG
Kostiantyn Musiienko of Ukraine is one of the biggest names in this competition. He is the current equipped world champion and the incoming European champion in both powerlifting and single-lift bench press.
Musiienko holds the IPF world records for the bench press in both the 83-kilogram class (292.5 kilograms (645 pounds)) and the 93-kilogram class (351.5 kilograms (775 pounds)). Additionally, he holds the IPF total world record in the 93-kilogram class at a whopping 1,064 kilograms (2,346 pounds).
Musiienko’s records at 93 kilograms were set at the 2022 IPF World Championships in Denmark in November, so he is carrying momentum. Expect to see him improve on these numbers and further those records.
Kjell Bakkelund — 83KG
The 83-kilogram class is stacked. The current Equipped World Champion, Kjell Bakkelund, is only a few weeks away from the 2023 IPF Classic World Championships on May 20-28 in Sun City, Africa. It will be interesting to see how he has managed to train for both contests simultaneously.
Bakkelund has his work cut out with the current European champion, Vitalii Kolomiets of Ukraine, looking to defend his title. Kolomiets will have his teammate and former world champion, Andriy Naniev, with him, so it will surely be a tight race for the podium.
Nicki Lentz — 105KG
The 105-kilogram class promises to be a cracker! Nicki Lentz is the squat world record holder in the 93-kilogram class but has moved up to the 105-kilogram class for this meet.
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Lentz is nominated with the 1,000-kilogram (2,205-pound) total he scored at Danish nationals. However, he didn’t have a great day on squat at that contest, so he can likely deliver more in this class. Oliver Dahlkvist of Sweden is nominated with exactly the same total, so the podium race will also be hot here.
Right below Lentz and Dahlkvist’s nominated totals are Asgeir Hoel of Norway and Ukraine’s Oleksandr Rubets, both nominated on 982.5 kilograms (2,166 pounds).
Women’s Divisions
Below are three athletes primed for big performances in the Women’s categories.
Larysa Soloviova — 63KG
There aren’t many reigning champions defending their titles during the women’s competition, but Ukraine’s Larysa Soloviova is an exception.
Soloviova is a long way ahead in nominations in the 63-kilogram class. She’s nominated with a 592.5-kilogram (1,306.2-pound) total — a staggering 65 kilograms (143.3 pounds) ahead of the next closest competitor, Radostina Lulova of Bulgaria.
Soloviova is the current world champion and an IPF Hall of Famer who has dominated the equipped division for two decades. Given the nominated totals, the results will continue to roll in.
Zuzanna Kula — 57KG
Zuzanna Kula of Poland has been an absolute phenomenon, winning the Open world title in the 52-kilogram class at the 2022 IPF Equipped World Championships and the Junior world title in the same class. Back in July 2022, Kula took the silver medal at The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, becoming the first Polish woman to win a medal at that event.
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Zula has moved up a class every year recently and is now in the 57-kilogram class for the first time. Could she hunt down the squat world record in this class? She seems within reach.
Sóley Margrét Jónsdóttir — +84KG
Keep an eye out for Sóley Jónsdóttir of Iceland in the super heavyweights. She has crept closer to the Junior squat world record at 290 kilograms (639 pounds). She appears well placed to take a run at it and might see her first win in the Open class, as Hildeborg Hugdal has elected to compete at the clashing World Bench Press Championships instead.
It’s also worth watching out for the UK’s Emma Goodwin, who narrowly missed the deadlift world record in the 52-kilogram class twice last year. BarBend will report results and recaps of the action in Thisted at the conclusion of the meet.
Featured image: @kjelllbrell on Instagram
