Over the weekend, we saw the final athletes take the platform at the 2018 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships, and there was no shortness of excitement.
On Saturday, the -84kg female athletes concluded their performances, and one athlete that truly made a statement and stole the show was 19 year-old Daniella Melo. Going into Worlds, Melo had built a ton of hype behind her potential to shatter multiple records and win the Championship. After a strong a performance at the 2018 Arnold Classic, along with a string of videos pushing weight over current records, Melo lived up to the excitement.
To kick off her record shattering meet, Melo opened with a strong and easy 200kg squat for her first attempt. Unfortunately, she was flagged for depth and repeated 200kg for her second squat as well. These attempts were only 6.5kg shy of Melo’s current 206.5kg world record that she set at the 2017 IPF World Classic Championships.
Melo’s hit 200kg for reps before, so it wasn’t a matter of if, but when in her attempts she would take down the current world record. After successfully hitting her second squat attempt, Melo called for 213kg for a new world record and a lift that would put her in first going into the bench press.
On the bench press, Melo hit a strong 117.5kg opener, then jumped to 125kg, which took down the current junior world record. For her third attempt, Melo bumped to 2.5kg to 127.5kg to increase her junior world record a bit more.
For the deadlift, Melo had already positioned herself in a commanding spot, but took her performance to the next level with her three attempts. After an easy 210kg opener, Melo jumped to 220kg for a new junior world record. Then, for her third attempt, Melo pushed past the 500-lb mark with an open world record of 230.5kg.
Melo’s epic performance earned her a 571kg total, which was also another world record.
At the young age of 19, Melo still has multiple years as a junior athlete and she’s already taking down open world records left and right. Saying her future is bright would be an understatement.
Feature image from @theipf Instagram page.
