Super Heavyweight powerlifter Ahmed Hassanin is lifting staggeringly heavy squats in the gym lately. His preparation for the 2021 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Open Championships scheduled for Oct. 21-31, 2021, in Vilnius, Lithuania is in full force. In the past week and a half, he posted a pair of videos to his Instagram page, wherein he squats over 453.6 kilograms (1,000 pounds).
In his first video, posted on Oct. 11, 2021, Hassanin hit a 455-kilogram (1,003.1-pound) equipped double. One week later, he shared a video of his 490-kilogram (1,080-pound) top single while wearing a suit, wrist wraps, knee wraps, and a lifting belt. It is in the ballpark of the heaviest all-time squats in the +120-kilogram weight class, where Hassanin primarily competes. Check out the lift below:
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For a sense of just how heavy Hassanin’s squat was, it required five spotters. Hassanin did not share his body weight at the time of this lift. His most recent sanctioned competition appearance was his runner-up finish at the 2021 USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Equipped Nationals in June 2021. For that meet, his official bodyweight was 181.1 kilograms (399.3 pounds). That means his 490-kilogram (1,080-pound) squat is nearly three times his most recent competition bodyweight.
Hassanin’s squat is in range of the IPF equipped squat world record currently held by Blaine Sumner. Sumner’s 505-kilogram (1,113.3-pound) equipped squat from the 2017 North American Powerlifting Federation (NAPF) Arnold Grand Prix is the heaviest ever. Sumner is currently in a league of his own as the only person to ever squat more than 500 kilograms (1,102.3 pounds) at +120-kilograms. However, Dustin Slepicka and Tyler Butcher have both successfully hit 500 kilograms (1,102.3 pounds) exactly.
New World Record Incoming
Hassanin’s Instagram post caught the eye of one of the strongest bench pressers in the world, Danial Zamani, who will challenge Julius Maddox to a bench press battle at Iron Wars V in January 2022. Zamani commented with a trio of biceps emojis. Two-time IPF world champion at -120-kilograms Dennis Cornelius left a comment that could predict the future:
New world record incoming.
If Hassanin is to make Cornelius’ words a reality, he’ll have to tack on an additional 16 kilograms (35.3 pounds) to the barbell. At the pace he’s going in the gym, it seems possible. When the IPF World Open comes to a close, we’ll if Sumner’s equipped squat world record is still standing.
Featured image: @ahmedhassaninn on Instagram
