World-record powerlifter and IFBB Pro League Women’s bodybuilder Hunter Henderson has been busy in 2024, competing in both sports within the year’s first seven months. However, her focus for the foreseeable future appears to be on bodybuilding.
After numerous fans asked her about her future competitive plans, Henderson shared an Instagram post with her decision in the caption on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024:
I will not pursue powerlifting for a few years. I will make bodybuilding my priority.
Henderson clarified that even though she prioritizes bodybuilding, this is not a retirement from the powerlifting platform.
Henderson continued in her caption, “I’m not sure exactly when I will return to the platform, but I will be back one day. There are still many goals of mine on the table. For now, I am pursuing what makes me happiest, and boy, has bodybuilding done something to/for me.”
Henderson has been among the world’s best powerlifters for several years and has set multiple world records. Her most recent was squatting 311 kilograms in the 82.5-kilogram category at the 2024 WRPF Ghost Clash event on 7 April 2024, in Miami, FL.
2024 WRPF Ghost Clash Results — Hunter Henderson, 82.5KG
- Squat — 311 kilograms
- Bench Press — 165 kilograms
- Deadlift — 240 kilograms
- Total — 716 kilograms
By the weekend of July 19-20, 2024, Henderson was onstage at the 2024 Chicago Pro, going pose-for-pose against pro bodybuilders vying for a qualification to compete in the 2024 Ms. Olympia. Henderson placed second in that contest to winner Sherry Priami.
That was just Henderson’s second pro show. Her first was at the 2021 Tampa Pro, finishing second to champion Mona Poursaleh.
Henderson will not compete for the rest of the 2024 bodybuilding season, nor will she step onstage in 2025. She plans to take an extended offseason to grow and prepare for the 2026 season. The 2026 contest schedule has not been finalized, so it is unknown which pro show(s) Henderson will step onstage at.
If Henderson eventually qualifies for the Olympia, she would not be the first athlete to excel in both sports. Bev Francis competed in powerlifting, also setting world records in the 82.5-kilogram class in the 1980s. Francis placed as high as second in the Ms. Olympia in 1990 and 1991.
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Featured Image: @huntermhenderson on Instagram
