Over the weekend, powerlifter James Strickland competed in The IPA No Excuses Texas State Open, which was hosted in Kindwood, Texas. He weighed in at a light 293 lbs and had the goal of making a run at the 308 lb weight class all-time raw bench press world record.
After opening with a strong and fast 628 lb (285kg) first attempt, he called for 672 lbs (305kg) on his second. He crushed this lift, then called for 702 lbs (319kg) on the bar, which would have awarded him the 308 lb all-time bench press world record and would top the current 701 lb (318kg) held by Scot Mendelson from 2002.
Strickland’s coach John Bryant of Jailhouse Strong wrote in his video’s description above, “672!! Competition PR for @swimhack !! Legit attempt at ATWR made!! Very proud of this man!!!”
In addition to his coach praising this insane feat of strength, Mark Bell’s Sling Shot Instagram wrote in their video description, “672 POUNDS! Someone write that man a speeding ticket. Competed at 308 weighing in at 293 lbs and took a crack at 702 lbs, which would be an ALL TIME WORLD RECORD, for a miss. This is just the beginning for @swimhack. He’s got that ATWR running on fumes and that is gonna be a light snacc when he’s done!”
Strickland is no stranger to world record attempts and strong competition benches. In fact, he also took a run at the 275 lb all-time world record back in July 2017 at the Alabama APA Raw War III powerlifting meet.
At this meet, Strickland weighed in at a light 266 lbs, and hit a 661 lb (300kg) bench on his third attempt before taking a run at the all-time world record with a granted 677 lb (307kg) fourth world record attempt.
This lift above would have topped Jeremy Hoornstra’s 2014 all-time world record 675lb (306kg) bench press.
As many have pointed out in the powerlifting community, it’s just a matter of time until Strickland finds himself with one of the all-time world record benches, but which will it be?
Feature image screenshot from @jailhousestrong Instagram page.