The game of powerlifting, on the entire, doesn’t appear to be short on young stars and up-and-comers in the meanwhile. With a fresh performance under his belt, there is likely to be one other big name to throw right into a growing competitive ring. On Oct. 2, 2022, during a victory on the Australian Powerlifting League (APL) Strength Quest II, 19-year-old powerlifter Theo Maddox broke two raw Teen 18-19 World Records within the 140-kilogram weight class. The competition took place on the GroundZeroW Gym in Arundel, Australia.
Maddox’s first record was a 390-kilogram (859.8-pound) deadlift that Maddox pulled from a sumo stance with a mixed grip while wearing a lifting belt. The pull surpasses Max Shethar’s previous figure of 350 kilograms (771.6 kilos) from the 2021 United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) Ragnarok Invite II. Maddox’s second feat was a 962.5-kilogram (2,117.5-pound) total, exceeding Jackson Powell’s past mark of 897 kilograms (1,977.5 kilos) from the 2022 United States Powerlifting Coalition Big Bend Classic.
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Here’s an summary of Maddox’s complete performance on the 2022 APL Strength Quest II, where he also earned all-time raw competition bests on his squat and bench press:
Theo Maddox (140KG) | 2022 APL Strength Quest II Top Stats
- Squat — 355 kilograms (781 kilos) | All-Time Competition Best
- Bench Press — 217.5 kilograms (478.5 kilos) | All-Time Competition best
- Deadlift — 390 kilograms (859.8 kilos) | Teen 18-19 World Record
- Total — 962.5. kilograms (2,117.5 kilos) | Teen 18-19 World Record
With 4 competitions to his name in keeping with Open Powerlifting, Maddox has yet to lose in his budding competitive profession. Here’s a rundown of his complete profession results:
Theo Maddox | Complete Profession Results
- 2020 Latest Zealand Powerlifting Federation (NZPF) WBOP Regional Championships (Sub-Juniors/Raw) — First place
- 2020 NZPF Nationals (Sub-Juniors/Raw) — First place
- 2021 NZPF North Island Championships (Juniors/Raw) — First place
- 2022 APL Strength Quest II (Teen 18-19/Raw) — First place
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Despite his most up-to-date impressive result undoubtedly putting him on the powerlifting map, Maddox didn’t appear satisfied with a record-breaking output. Because the 19-year-old athlete would explain in a post on his Instagram, he’s treating this stellar finish as a learning experience.
“Look, it wasn’t the day I wanted, however it was good to get on the platform again after so long off,” Maddox wrote. “I even have so much to learn and improve upon, and that’s truthfully very exciting to have acquired all this recent information. I’m now in a superb position to construct a few of my foundations up and work on my weaknesses. A break will do me good, nonetheless. I would like to deal with my mental [health] and plan a good amount out. Talk less, do more. Talk is affordable, in any case.”
Featured image: @theo_maddox on Instagram