Currently, the CETC US Open Powerlifting Championships are underway at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego, California. The championships are being held today and tomorrow and if you’re interested in checking out the live stream, click here (you have to pay, but with a promo code you save ten dollars).
One of the bigger named lifters in the 242 lb class Larry “Wheels” Williams experienced a fall on his final squat attempt. Williams was attempting a 793 lb squat when it appears he bottomed out and sat off to his left. This was his third squat attempt, as his first was 744 lbs and his second was 777 lbs.
As of now, Williams will not be continuing in competition. This was confirmed on Gracie Vanasse’s Instagram Live feed.
We’re still unsure on the extent of his injury, or if something serious happened that you can’t see in the video. From the video you can see that Williams limps off screen, and was also icing his knee in Vanasse’s Instagram Live.
Williams wrote on his Instagram page, “3rd attempt. I can stand. I can walk. And after 8 weeks of recovery, I will be back. This is the beginning of a long powerlifting journey.”
Hopefully nothing serious happened and this was just a fluke mishap with a minor injury. Notice how uneven the barbell was when Williams un-racked it.
Williams has been the second lifter this week that discontinued their performance in the US Open. Rob “Da Savage” Hall announced on his Instagram page earlier in the week he had to drop out due to a continued sickness. While Williams’s case is different than Hall’s, it’s still unfortunate two elite powerlifters have had to discontinue their lifting so close and in-competition.
To check out the full US Open roster, check out this link. If you’re interesting in tuning into the live stream, then check out the full schedule below.
Saturday
- Flight A: M90kg and 110kg
- Flight B: M100kg and 125kg
- Flight C: M140kg and SHW
Sunday
- Flight A: F48, 52, 56kg and M67.5Kg
- Flight B: F60, 67.5, and 75kg
- Flight C: F82.5kg and M75 and 82.5kg
Feature image from ScallionsTV YouTube channel.
