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On June 21, 2022, strongwoman Rhianon Lovelace shared footage of herself capturing a 280-kilogram (616-pound) deadlift from a conventional stance while wearing a lifting suit, lifting belt, and lifting straps. The mark unofficially exceeds the current World Record in the 64-kilogram strongwoman division by 7.5 kilograms (16.5 pounds).
Lovelace — who has competed in the 64-kilogram division of late — possesses that record figure thanks to a 272.5-kilogram (600.7-pound) record deadlift at the 2020 Strength Shop Record Breakers.
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Given that Lovelace has featured as both a strongwoman and powerlifter, there are certain essential distinctions to keep in mind regarding deadlifting in the respective sports. Powerlifters cannot use lifting straps and must complete their reps without resting their weight at any time. Strongwomen can use straps and hitch the weight above their knees while finishing their pull.
For her latest powerful deadlift, Lovelace appears to lift as a strongwoman as she uses straps and hitches the weight above her knees for a moment.
A Fruitful Journey
This training feat seems to hold particular significance to Lovelace. After exceeding the axle deadlift World Record in early June 2022, Lovelace battled a fit of pneumonia that she said caused her to lose eight percent of her body weight.
In her Instagram post, the strongwoman/powerlifter quickly reflected on her latest achievement and a journey that started with a powerlifting record in 2017.
“This is the number that means such an awful lot to me (obviously aside from the 300),” Lovelace wrote. “Because when we make this legit in competition, I’ll have added exactly 100 kilograms to the World Record since I first broke it in 2017.”
The statistics add up, aside from what might be a small typo by Lovelace. While competing as a powerlifter when she was 20-years-old, Lovelace set the British deadlift powerlifting record with a pull of 180 kilograms (396.8 pounds) at the 2016 Global Powerlifting Committee (GPC) British Finals. Approximately six years later, while lifting as a strongwoman, the athlete has indeed added 100 kilograms (220.4 pounds) to that initial top figure.
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The other accomplishment Lovelace references is a 300-kilogram (660-pound) deadlift off low blocks from a February 2021 training session. Notably, that pull was five times her body weight of 60 kilograms at the time.
Additionally, though Lovelace doesn’t mention it here, she is the owner of the all-time British raw deadlift powerlifting record with a 241-kilogram (530-pound) pull at the 2022 British Powerlifting Union (BPU) Single Lift British Championships.
The Road Ahead
Following her battle with pneumonia, Lovelace left her near-competitive future up in the air while recovering. Now that it appears she’s at full strength, it seems she’s back to leaving no stone unturned. The 2018 World’s Strongest Woman (WSW) is on a mission to make her new deadlift World Record official soon.
“July 16th, I’m coming to extend my World Record,” Lovelace continued in her Instagram post. “No doubt about it!”
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That mid-summer date Lovelace alludes to is a reference to the 2022 Berkshire’s Strongest Man & Woman contest on July 16, 2022, in Berkshire, England. Provided Lovelace faces no further unexpected setbacks with her health, it might be fair to expect her to surpass her traditional deadlift World Record at the competition.
For this already legendary strongwoman, she seldom seems to miss a chance at emphatically stamping her name in the record books.
Featured image: @rhianon.lovelace.kaosstrength on Instagram