In April 2021, after 18-year-old Jackson Powell squatted a colossal 419.6-kilograms (925-pound) double, he told BarBend of his goal to squat 452.6 kilograms (1,000 pounds) and total 998 kilograms (2,200 pounds) at the World Powerlifting USA (WPUSA) Tennessee State Championship on May 8, 2021. If successful, he would be the first teen to ever hit those numbers and the lone teenager to ever pass the 2,200-pound milestone.
Unfortunately, Powell was unable to hit those marks, but he still scored a gold-medal total in the super heavyweight division that was 124 kilograms (273.4 pounds) more than runner-up James Williams’s total. Here were Powell’s first-place results, per Open Powerlifting:
- Squat — 417 kilograms (919.3 pounds)
- Bench Press — 207 kilograms (456.3 pounds)
- Deadlift — 318 kilograms (701 pounds)
- Total — 942 kilograms (2076.7 pounds)
Note: those scores are via lifts performed raw with wraps.
Check out all three successful lifts from Powell’s performance below, courtesy of his Instagram page:
View this post on Instagram
[Related: Marianna Gasparyan Announces Her Retirement From Competitive Powerlifting]
1000-Pound Squat
As mentioned by Powell, his goal in the squat was to be the first teen to lift 452.6 kilograms (1000 pounds). He opened with 417 kilograms (919.3 pounds) successfully. This is the second-heaviest squat ever in the Teen 18-19 division. For reference, the world record currently is Joseph Peña‘s 425.5-kilogram (938-pound) lift from the 2018 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) 6th World Classic Championships. Powell called for 440 kilograms (970 pounds) on the barbell — a would-be world record for his second attempt but failed. He repeated that weight on his third attempt to the same result.
2,200-Pound Total
The world record total in the Teen 18-19 division is currently Skyler Brandt’s 957.5-kilogram (2,110.9-pound) total from the 2019 American Powerlifting Federation (APF) Nationals. After missing his second and third attempts in the squat, Powell went three for three in the bench press — his heaviest being a 207-kilogram (456.3-pound) lift on his third attempt. He followed that up with a 318-kilogram (701-pound) 0pener in the deadlift. At this point, Powell was 56 kilograms (123.5 pounds) shy of his stated 998-kilogram (2,200-pound) goal. He called for an 18-kilogram (39.7-pound) jump on his second attempt but missed. Mirroring the results of the squat, he called for the same 336 kilograms (740.7 pounds) on his third attempt but missed again.
Despite coming up shy of his target, Powell’s performance was still quite noteworthy. His 942-kilogram (2076.7-pound) total was the third heaviest ever in the Teen 18-19 division — only Brandt’s total and Nate McCoole’s 955-kilogram (2,105.4-pound) total from the 2014 APF Europa are currently higher.
Powell did score competition bests in all three lifts at this event. So even if the goal will remain unchanged for Powell’s next appearance on the competitive platform, he is closer to achieving it than he’s ever been.
Feature image: @bigjpowell53 on Instagram