Polish equipped powerlifting specialist Zuzanna Kula is having a busy 2024. She recently competed for the fifth time at the 2024 European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) European Bench Press Championships (EBC).
Held in Istanbul, Türkiye, the 2024 EBC featured classic (commonly referred to as “raw”) and equipped bench press. Kula competed at 57KG in the equipped competition. Her opening lift of 162.5 kilograms was over three times her body weight — she weighed in at 53.8 kilograms. This lift put her 20 kilograms beyond anything her nearest rival hit.
With the European title in the bag, Kula went after the world record with her second lift of 169 kilograms and locked it out:
In the IPF, “equipped” refers to single-ply equipment; multi-ply is prohibited. Kula elected not to use a lifting belt to secure her bench shirt. Often, equipped benchers use a belt to stop the shirt slipping toward the throat during the press. Kula is an expert in a bench shirt though, and the shirt stayed where it needed to.
Kula controlled the descent, getting the barbell to her chest in one smooth movement. The bar stalled halfway up, but she locked it out to break the single-lift bench press world record for the third time in 2024.
2024 EPF European Equipped Bench Press Championships Results — Zuzanna Kula, 57KG
- Bench Press
- 162.5 kilograms
- 169 kilograms — IPF Open World Record
173 kilograms
The International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) maintains two sets of bench press records to distinguish between lifts achieved as part of full power competition and those done in a single lift contests. Kula isn’t just a bench specialist; she is also an accomplished full-power athlete. She broke the full-power bench press world record four times in 2024.
Kula has always been a great bencher, but her bench press has been ascendant since surgery for an ACL injury in 2023 took her out of full-power competition for a while. She seems to have recovered well — her squat at the EPF European Equipped Powerlifting Championships in May 2024 was only 10 kilograms off her lifetime best.
Kula will next compete at the 2024 IPF Equipped World Powerlifting Championships (EWC), which will be held in Iceland in November. This is an important competition as it qualifies for the 2025 World Games (TWG) in Chengdu, China. Kula was the first Polish woman to win a medal in powerlifting from TWG — a bronze in the lightweight class.
It’s unclear whether Kula will compete in the 57KG class, as she has since 2022, or drop back to 52KG. The lower weight class seems within reach, having weighed in at 53.8 kilograms at the 2024 EBC. It’s a more important choice than usual, as TWG has combined weight classes rather than the IPF’s usual classes:
- Lightweight — Men 59KG-66KG classes / Women 47KG-52KG classes
- Middleweight — Men 74KG-83KG classes / Women 57KG-63KG classes
- Heavyweight — Men 93KG-105KG classes / Women 69KG-76KG classes
- Super Heavyweight — Men 120KG-120+KG classes / Women 84KG-84+KG classes
Athletes are required to lift at TWG in the weight class in which they qualified. This means the choice between 52KG and 57KG at the 2024 EWC is also between Lightweight and Middleweight in 2025. Whichever class Kula chooses, she will need to be in the top three in Iceland to guarantee her spot in China.
Featured image: @theipf on Instagram
