It is an exceedingly rare feat to see an athlete deadlift over five times their body weight. On July 26, 2023, 20-year-old Sergio Watkins did that and then some when he locked out a 347-kilogram (765-pound) deadlift at a bodyweight of 135 pounds.
Watkins shared a video of the lift on his Instagram page, which can be seen below. He wore a lifting belt, lifting straps, and performed the pull in a sumo stance with an overhand grip.
[Related: Jimmy Kolb Sets New All-Time Equipped Bench Press World Record of 635.4 Kilograms (1,401 Pounds)]
The weight was clearly not an easy lift judging by Watkins’ bar speed, but the lift never seemed to be in doubt. While the range of motion is limited due to how wide Watkins’ stance is, the lift is otherwise clean and would likely be called a good lift in competition had he held the lockout long enough to receive a down signal from the judge.
At just 20 years of age, Watkins’ competitive powerlifting resume is comprised of almost entirely equipped Teen division Texas High School Powerlifting Association (THSPA) meets. According to Open Powerlifting, Watkins’ lone contest outside the THSPA is his most recent at the 2022 USPA Drug Tested Mustang Stampede in May 2o22, where he scored the following result:
2022 USPA Drug Tested Mustang Stampede Results — Sergio Watkins, 67.5KG
- Squat
- 202.5 kilograms (446.4 pounds)
- 210 kilograms (463 pounds)
- 220 kilograms (485 pounds)
- Bench Press
117.5 kilograms (259 pounds)117.5 kilograms (259 pounds)- 117.5 kilograms (259 pounds)
- Deadlift
- 257.5 kilograms (567.7 pounds)
- 265 kilograms (584.2 pounds)
- 275 kilograms (606.3 pounds)
- Total — 612.5 kilograms (1,350.3 pounds)
The deadlift from the above meet is Watkins’ current competition best pull, though that is unlikely to be his current best given how heavy his training lifts have been recently. While taking into account that Watkins used straps and, therefore, his training lift wasn’t raw, it does suggest he is well within world record range with his deadlift.
The current all-time raw deadlift world record at 67.5 kilograms is Luke McCain’s 277.5-kilogram pull at the 2023 USAPL Virginia Winter Thaw. McCain weight 66.6 kilograms at that meet, meaning his raw deadlift world record was 4.2 times his bodyweight — ways away from Watkins’ 5.66 times-bodyweight pull.
BarBend has reached out to Watkins regarding when he intends to compete next and if he plans to call for world record weight on the barbell when he does.
Featured image: @serg_strength on Instagram
