This weekend at the 2018 Arnold Sports Festival, it was most definitely “money time” for 120kg+ powerlifting athlete Ray Williams. He put on an impressive performance at the USA Powerlifting SBD Pro American Powerlifting Championships and drew in one of the bigger crowds at the fitness expo.
Williams’ third attempt squat not only unofficially shattered his current 120kg+ raw IPF World Record, but it was also the heaviest raw squat ever performed in formal competition per the IPF’s standards. To open up the day, Williams squatted an easy 442.5kg (975 lbs), which looked like a warm-up, the moved on to smoke his second 467.5kg (1,030 lbs) second attempt.
This second attempt was only 10kg shy from Williams’ current world record, and he blew it out of the water. For his final attempt, Williams called for 485kg (1,069 lbs) on the bar, which would surpass his current competition best (and current world record) by 7.5kg.
The music was blaring and hundreds of powerlifting fans and athletes gathered around the meet to watch Williams make history for a second year in a row at the Arnold. As the crowd roared, Williams took to the platform in the commanding fashion he always does.
Check out the epic 485kg (1,069 lb) squat below, along with Williams’ other squat attempts, final bench press, and deadlift.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf4dOBzjqXG/
Many thanks to Matt Wallace for videoing these clips, sharing them with us, and place holding our spot in the front row.
To finish off the day, Williams’ went 7/9 and walked away with the 485kg (1,069 lb) squat, a 235kg (518 lb) bench press, and a 372.5kg (821 lb) deadlift. These three lifts left Williams with a massive 1,092.5kg (2,403.5 lb) total.
Williams best total and current 120kg+ raw IPF world record sits at 1,105kg (2,431 lbs), and he set this at last year’s Arnold. As the year progresses, it’s going to be interesting to see where Williams takes his squat next. Could we be seeing the first ever raw 500kg squat in 2018?
Feature image screenshot from @mattwallace148 Instagram page.
