Jackson Powell is fiction-novel-level strong. The 18 year-old competed in the Southern Powerlifting Federation (SPF) Gritmas event on Dec. 5, 2020 in Cleveland, TN. Battling it out in the +140-kilogram weight class, Powell recorded some remarkable stats for someone competing in only their third ever sanctioned meet. According to Open Powerlifting he won both previous events he competed in. Here is a recap each lift Powell hit at SPF Gritmas:
- Squat — 410 kilograms (903.9 pounds)
- Bench Press — 200 kilograms (440.9 pounds)
- Deadlift — 317.5 kilograms (700 pounds)
- Total — 927.5 kilograms (2,044.8 pounds)
If you have not yet had a chance to see Powell’s Gritmas-winning performance, you can do so below courtesy of his Instagram page:
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Powell exceeding expectations on the lifting stage for his age should come as no surprise. Throughout his teenage years, he has been recorded moving absurdly heavy lifts. When he was 16 years of age, he was capable of squatting 297-kilogram (655-pound) triples and had a personal best squat of 328.9 kilograms (725 pounds).
At 17 years of age he was able to front squat in impressive 306.2 kilograms (675 pounds), which is similar to what elite level super heavyweight powerlifters are capable of. In one year of training, he was able to improve his squat PR by 75.6 kilograms (160 pounds) to 401.4 kilograms (885 pounds).
The previous sanctioned event Powell competed in was the United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) 4th Annual Tennessee Open on Jan. 18, 2020 in the super heavyweight division. Here were Powell’s stats:
- Squat — 377.5 kilograms (832.2 pounds)
- Bench Press — 172.5 kilograms (380.3 pounds)
- Deadlift — 292.5 kilograms (644.8 pounds)
- Total — 842.5 kilograms (1,857.4 pounds)
That means in less than one year between the Tennessee Open and Gritmas, he improved his competition bests by the following weight:
- Squat — 32.5 kilograms (71.7 pounds)
- Bench Press — 27.5 kilograms (60.6 pounds)
- Deadlift — 25 kilograms (55.1 pounds)
- Total — 85 kilograms (187.4 pounds)
With these kinds of leaps in strength, one can only wonder what kind of lifts Powell will hit when he turns 19.
Feature image from Jackson Powell’s Instagram page: @bigjpowell53
