We are a little under two weeks out from the 2019 Kern US Open and the athletes competing are beginning to wrap up their final heavy sessions. This year, the Kern US Open is set to take place April 27th-28th in San Diego, California, and some of powerlifting’s best athletes will be coming together to shatter new feats.
One of the most highly anticipated athletes to take the platform at the Kern US Open is elite powerlifting and all-time world record holder Marianna Gasparyan. Every meet, Gasparayan continues to shock and awe the powerlifting community with her incredible feats of strength, and her final heavy squat session posted two days on her Instagram page is the perfect example of what we we’re talking about.
Competing in the women’s 60kg/132 lb division, Gasparyan recently shared a video of herself squatting an absolutely ridiculous 235kg/517 lbs for a set of five. In her Instagram video’s description Gasparyan writes,
“That’s what I’ve been prepping for in the last couple of days. My last heavy squat session before the long awaited entrance on the platform at Kern US Open. 517 lbs 235kg for 5 easy reps.”
At last year’s Kern US Open, Gasparyan took home first place in the 60kg weight class with a huge 562kg/1,204 lb total. Her lifts were comprised of 240kg/530 lb squat, a 127kg/281 lb bench press, and a 195kg/430 lb deadlift. For additional context on her latest video, Gasparyan is only squatting 5 lbs off her 2018 Kern US Open best squat and she’s hitting that weight for 5-reps.
However, this squat set probably won’t surprise you if you’re already a Gasparyan fan. Flashback to earlier this year at the 2019 Arnold Sports Festival where Gasparyan squatted a casual 265kg/585 lbs in the Animal Cage.
Currently, Gasparyan is ranked #2 in the world for the highest all-time Wilks scores right behind Stacy Burr. We don’t know about you, but we’re more than excited to see what Gasparyan is capable doing at this year’s Kern Us Open.
Feature image from @power_mayan Instagram page.