One need only see Nabil Lahlou lift once to confirm why he’s the so-called “French Phenom,” per his Instagram bio. The 23-year-old powerlifter is a prolific competitor, and his latest demonstration of strength was a doozy.
On Oct. 22, 2022, Lahlou shared an Instagram clip of himself capturing a 362.9-kilogram (800-pound) raw deadlift during a training session. In response to Open Powerlifting, the feat is a private record (PR) for Lahlou by 44.9 kilograms (99 kilos). It’s a major and rapid jump forward for Lahlou, who previously pulled 317.9 kilograms (701 kilos) throughout the 2022 United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) Drug-Tested The Good Guys UN Invitational. (Note: That meet was roughly only two weeks earlier.) The athlete wore a lifting belt and utilized lifting straps to assist with this latest achievement.
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For Lahlou, the 800-pound deadlift is perhaps much more impressive, considering his body composition.
Per Lahlou’s Instagram post, the athlete weighed 163 kilos (73.9 kilograms) on the time of his lift. Meaning his massive pull was 4.9 times his body weight. Think about Lahlou apparently not even planning to deadlift before he was “feeling the warm-ups,” and this milestone resembles something quite eye-opening for a young star powerlifter.
Here’s an summary of Lahlou’s all-time raw competition bests:
Nabil Lahlou | All-Time Raw Competition Bests
- Squat — 237.5 kilograms (523.6 kilos)
- Bench Press — 130 kilograms (286.6 kilos)
- Deadlift — 317.9 kilograms (701 kilos)
- Total — 678 kilograms (1,494.7 kilos)
By way of his overall resume, Lahlou doesn’t have many blemishes. Since he began competitive powerlifting in November 2020, there have been just three instances in Lahlou’s profession where he hasn’t finished with an outright victory.
Here’s a rundown of a few of the more notable results of Lahlou’s profession:
Nabil Lahlou | Notable Profession Results
- 2020 USPA Drug-Tested NOVA Fall Classic (Juniors 20-23/Raw) — First place
- 2021 USPA Drug-Tested PWRBLD Gym March Madness Powerlifting Meet (Juniors 20-23/Raw) — First place
- 2021 USPA Drug-Tested District Championships (Juniors 20-23/Raw) — First place
- 2021 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) Drug-Tested Nationals (Juniors 20-23/Raw) — First place
- 2021 USPA Kentucky State Championships (Open/Raw) — First place
- 2021 USPA Beast of the East (Open/Raw) — First place
- 2022 USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Got Em’ Mustache Classic (Juniors/Open/Raw) — First place
- 2022 USPA Drug-Tested The Good Guys UN Invitational (Open/Raw) — First place
Lahlou has participated as a 67.5-kilogram competitor for the reason that 2022 USPA Drug Tested King of the Cave in June 2022. This was his weight class for much of his profession before a shift to the 75-kilogram category from December 2021 to June 2022. On the time of this writing, it shouldn’t be clear if he plans to make a transition back to this division or one other.
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When Lahlou competes next is uncertain. Nonetheless, should he return to the 75-kilogram weight class while notching this deadlift in said next contest, it might break the present World Record of 362.4 kilograms (799.1 kilos) held by Adlet Moldagaliev. Such a staggering mark would act as an ideal notch within the belt for this “phenom.”
Featured image: @kinng_67 on Instagram