Kimberly Walford is a seven-time International Powerlifting World Classic champion. Her name has been etched in the powerlifting record books for a long time. She has a history of capturing her personal records on film, like the deadlift that exceeded the world record she set. So make no mistake, breaking the records she set herself has become a habit.
It is safe to say that when Walford competes in the -72 weight class, the only competition seems to be her past self. It was no different this past weekend at the Reykjavik International Games in Iceland, where Walford decided to rewrite the record books yet again.
Check out Walford’s new International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Open and Masters world record raw deadlift of 244kg (538lb) from her Instagram page:
You can see in the video that Walford was all business at this event. She wasted no time screwing her feet in and pulling a weight no one ever has done as a classic -72kg IPF athlete. She posted a total of 534kg (1177lb). Her lifts consisted of a:
- 185kg Squat | Masters 1 World Record
- 105kg Bench Press
- 244kg Deadlift | IPF Open World Record
- 534kg Total
The previous open record deadlift was 243kg (536lb) which she set almost exactly two years ago. The new and previous records have two things in common: both happened in Reykjavik, Iceland, and both were pulled by Kimberly Walford.
You might think that her performance in Reykjavik this weekend is just par for the course and you are certainly not wrong. But if you did the math quickly, you’d see that Walford further extended her resume as one of the best ever in the sport when she also set a new Masters 1 world record squat after hitting 185kg (408lb).
We know that Walford’s next competition will be the 2020 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships on March 29th in Sheffield, England. What we do not yet know is how much weight she might add to the barbell and if she intends to set another world record.
But we’ll be watching to find out.
Feature image from Kimberly Walford instagram: @trackfu
