After squatting 525kg in training earlier this year, Vlad Alhazov cemented himself on our radar as one of the top powerlifters to watch heading into 2019. It turns out, his next jaw-dropping performance on the competition platform didn’t even have to wait until the new year.
On December 23rd, in his last competition of the year, Alhazov turned that training performance into a real-life competition mark, back squatting a massive 525kg/1,157 pounds raw and in wraps. Check out the video for yourself.
Alhazov opened at 465kg, then moved to 510kg for his second attempt. His successful lift at 525kg was a world record for raw + wraps that just so happened to EXCEED the current single-ply world record.
Perhaps even more impressive than Alhazov’s accomplishment is his backstory. Once upon a time — and in an age before social media helped powerlifting news and feats spread almost instantaneously — Alhazov held the IPA world record for the equipped squat with 567kg (1,250 pounds). But during his peak roughly ten years ago, the powerlifter suffered a catastrophic knee injury while attempting to squat 590kg equipped when training at Westside Barbell. He underwent a full knee reconstruction, and it was unclear if he’d ever lift again — let along attempt world-record weights.
But in July 2017, Alhazov became the first person to squat 500kg raw and in wraps, a lift which announced his return to the sport’s elite in dramatic fashion. And he’s been working his way up from that mark ever since.
Featured image: @Markos Markopoulos via Facebook