Powerlifting wunderkind Joseph Peña has just squatted 1,005 pounds (455.9kg) at eighteen years of age, wearing a single-ply squatting suit and a lifting belt.
If you haven’t heard of Peña before, the lad has been shattering records for some time. Last year, he recorded an IPF world sub-junior and junior super heavyweight record with a mammoth 805.8lb (365.6kg) squat at the World Powerlifting Championships in Texas, besting the 804-pound junior record set by Andy Askow.
Peña was the youngest man to ever even attempt the lift, though the squat was met with controversy on the day of the meet.
Two judges flagged it; one because his fingers weren’t completely wrapped around the bar and another because he believed that the squat didn’t hit full depth. You can check out the squat and the ensuing debate below — ultimately, the objection over his finger position was upheld and the squat was officially counted as a world record.
Peña is young, but he attended his first powerlifting meet at ten years old, so his training age is relatively advanced.
He’s such a force in powerlifting that his school’s powerlifting team was reportedly built in response to his talent. But he’s also a star football player, cutting back on his lifting during football season and having said in the past that he was exploring a college football scholarship. He occasionally shares videos of himself training, including one of his sets of 4 x 4 deadlifts at 485 pounds (220kg), which was taken about three weeks ago.
If he’s already squatting over 800 pounds as a teen, this athlete has a seriously bright future ahead of him in the sport. Watch this space.
Featured image via @_hollapena on Instagram.