On Oct. 15, 2022, through the 2022 USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Carolina Primetime contest, powerlifter Jen Thompson set an American Record within the 67.5-kilogram weight class when she scored a 148.5-kilogram (327.5-pound) raw bench press. The competition took place in Greenville, SC.
Notably, if Thompson had featured in a world competition with this press, it could’ve exceeded the present International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Record of 144 kilograms (317.4 kilos) within the IPF’s 69-kilogram weight class. Thompson also owns that mark, which she achieved during a second-place performance on the 2017 IPF Reykjavík International Games. The athlete performed the press with out a lifting belt and wore just wrist wraps to assist her notch the feat.
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Along with her latest official record, Thompson can now boast the highest American bench press mark in USAPL’s 60-kilogram, 67.5-kilogram, and 76-kilogram weight classes. Plus, in line with Open Powerlifting, while her latest bench press isn’t an official World Record, it surpasses Thompson’s all-time competition better of 145.4 kilograms (320.7 kilos) from the 2022 USAPL Arnold A7 Pro Bench Bash. Thompson competed within the Masters 45-49 division at that contest, which was a bench press-only meet and an element of the general 2022 Arnold Classic.
Her press aside, Thompson also fared quite well together with her other staple numbers, logging respective PRs on her squat, deadlift, and her total. (Note: Based on her recent contest history, Thompson often exclusively focuses on her bench press, continuously competing in bench press-only meets of late.)
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Here’s an summary of the highest stats from the athlete’s performance on the 2022 USAPL Carolina Primetime competition:
Jen Thompson (67.5KG) | 2022 USAPL Carolina Primetime Top Stats
- Squat — 160 kilograms (352 kilos) | Personal Competition Best
- Bench Press — 148.5 kilograms (327.5 kilos) | American Record | Personal Competition Best
- Deadlift — 202.5 kilograms (446.5 kilos)
- Total — 511 kilograms (1,126.5 kilos) | Personal Competition Best
Thompson may need left more on the table together with her latest record. Within the caption of her Instagram post, the athlete wrote that her bench press was “smooth like butter” and that she was “kicking” herself for not attempting a 149.7-kilogram (330-pound) press. That said, Thompson apparently trained in a different way and “tweaked her programming” upfront of this contest. The eventual results appeared to repay in spades.
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For a lot of athletes, this form of accomplishment could be a benchmark for his or her resume. For Thompson, one in every of the arguable best powerlifters of all time — with a plethora of victories to her name over a two-plus decade profession — it’s just the newest example of her unique prowess.
Featured image: jenthompson132 on Instagram