Ecuadorian powerlifter Vilma Vargas Ochoa has set a new world record in the equipped squat with an incredible 218 kilograms (480.6 pounds) at a weight of 52 kilograms (114.6 pounds). That’s 4.2 times her bodyweight.
The squat — which clearly took a lot out of her — took place at the IPF Open World Championships, which are being held all week in Pilsen, Czech Republic. (Here’s how you can watch the event live.)
This lift beat Ochoa’s own previous world record by just 500 grams, a record that she set back in July 2013 at the World Games in Cali, Colombia.
Ochoa hasn’t always been a 52kg athlete, though. During the 4 years between her two squat records, she spent some time lifting in the 57kg weight class, during which she squatted 220 kilograms (441 pounds) at the 2015 IPF Open World Championships in Luxembourg. Watch the lift below via the IPF’s official Facebook page.
That was 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) short of the world record, a 222.5-kilogram squat from Russia’s Inna Filimonova in 2014 that stands to this day.
[For another incredibly strong lift from a female powerlifter, don’t miss Chen Wei-Ling’s unforgettable 4.5x bodyweight squat from last year’s IPF Open!]
Ochoa doesn’t appear to be on Facebook and her Instagram is private, so there’s not a ton of information about her online (at least not in English) but we did find a few older clips of her competing at meets around the continent of South America. She made a bench press of 95 kilograms (209.4 pounds) at a 2014 championship:
And she made a very easy looking deadlift of 180 kilograms (397 pounds) in 2015.
[Some female powerlifters get some pretty unusual comments from guys when they train. Check out our article, Female Powerlifters Share the Weirdest Things Guys Say to Them.]
Ochoa’s lift this week is one worthy of the history books. We’re looking forward to the numbers she puts up in the future!
Featured image via @theipf on Instagram.
