Ray Bowring is a second-generation UK powerlifter. His father, Dean Bowring, has been a familiar face in the sport for over two decades. Dean was the 2009 equipped Open world champion in the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). He remains active in the sport, most recently winning the 2023 European Equipped Masters 1 title (ages 40-49). But it seems like Ray is on a trajectory to eclipse the father.
Ray Bowring has been competing since 2016 and has racked up many victories since then. In 2019, in quick succession, he won the sub-Junior equipped world championships and the sub-Junior classic European championships. He was back on the international platform in 2022, winning the Junior equipped world championships in Türkiye.
Bowring competed at the English Powerlifting Association (EPA) Manchester Open on Aug. 3, 2024. He squatted 455 kilograms for his second lift, more than any UK single-ply powerlifter in history.
Single-ply powerlifting in the IPF and its affiliates permits single-ply squat suits, bench shirts, deadlift suits, and two-meter knee wraps. Bowring used all of these, including wrist wraps and a lifting belt, during his record-breaking performance.
It’s brutally tough to walk out such a huge weight from a combo rack in tight knee wraps, but Bowring handled it brilliantly. His descent to depth was careful and controlled, and he demonstrated perfect positioning under the colossal weight. The ascent of the squat was textbook — smooth and with no deviation from the bar path.
Bowring called for 475.5 kilograms for his final squat — half a kilogram over the Junior world record set by Norway’s Carl Yngvar Christensen in 2013. He walked the weight out but couldn’t find his balance. After several seconds, he did not get the weight entirely under control. He made the sensible decision to re-rack the bar and not attempt the squat.
The 21-year-old’s courage to take on such a gargantuan weight and maturity to not put himself and his spotters at risk are admirable traits. This lift gave Bowring the all-time British record for a single-ply squat. Previously, this was held by Clive Henry, who hit 440 kilograms in 2007.
2024 EPA Manchester Open Results — Ray Bowring, 120+KG, Single-Ply
- Squat
- 430 kilograms
- 455 kilograms
475.5 kilograms
- Bench Press
- 305 kilograms
323 kilograms323 kilograms
- Deadlift
- 335 kilograms
- 355 kilograms
- 367.5 kilograms
- Total — 1,127.5 kilograms
With this performance, Bowring has lifted more than his father in the squat, deadlift, and total, and his bench press is only half a kilogram behind. He has a little work to do yet to hit a Junior world record, but he is still a Junior in 2025. With his current rate of progress, he has every chance of doing so before he moves up into the open category.
Featured image: @ray_bowring on Instagram
