John Haack is one of the most successful powerlifters of his generation. He holds several all-time world records (ATWR) in the 90KG and 100KG classes and has topped the worldwide DOTS rankings in knee sleeves for several years.
.Haack competed on Sept. 28, 2024, at the World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) Power Surge Pro/Am meet in Chicago. He had said that he was in great shape going into this meet. However, things did not quite go as planned.
Haack took 350 kilograms for his second squat, but as easy as it looked, the referees turned it down. Undeterred, Haack went for the ATWR squat of 365.5 kilograms for his final attempt and locked it out:
Haack made the lift using knee sleeves, wrist wraps, and a lifting belt but no other supportive equipment. After unracking, he stepped the weight back despite using a monolift. He seemed to misgroove slightly at the bottom of the lift but brought the weight to lockout nonetheless, shaking a little as he got back to the top.
Before this lift, the ATWR-sleeved squat in the 90KG class was 365 kilograms and belonged to Amit Sapir, who broke it in 2016.
With this lift, Haack was back on track. He hit all three bench presses successfully and ended up with 262.5 kilograms, only five kilograms off his best in this weight class.
Disaster struck on the deadlift when Haack ripped a callus on his opener and missed the lift. He took it again, hung onto it, and secured a 1,013-kilogram total (2,233 pounds). He made a valiant effort with a huge 415.5-kilogram deadlift but didn’t break it from the ground.
2024 Power Surge Pro/AM — John Haack, 90KG | Raw
- Squat
- 325 kilograms
350 kilograms- 365.5 kilograms — All Time Raw (in sleeves) World Record
- Bench Press
- 235 kilograms
- 255 kilograms
- 262.5 kilograms
- Deadlift
385 kilograms- 385 kilograms
415.5 kilograms
- Total — 1013 kilograms
Even on a seven-for-nine day, Haack achieved 665.75 DOTS, the highest score for a raw male powerlifter, with or without knee wraps — an incredible achievement.
Featured image: @bilbo_swaggins181 on Instagram
