A worthy record mark for a stellar athlete.

Written by Robert Zeglinski Last updated on June 8, 2023

The 2023 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Bench Press Championships saw quite a few hallowed records fall. One in every of them now belongs to 50-year-old Dutch powerlifter lelja Strik, who helped rewrite the record books throughout the upper body, single-lift strength contest that took place on May 20-28, 2023, in Sun City, South Africa.

By the competition’s end, Strik recorded a 132.5-kilogram (292.1-pound) raw bench press on her best attempt. The figure is a raw Masters 2 (ages 50 to 59) World Record in Strik’s 84-kilogram division, where the athlete got here in first place due to her top lift. Strik utilized wrist wraps during her record milestone but otherwise accomplished the bench press completely raw.

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Strik, who’s a frequent and successful single-lift bench press specialist at competitions, broke the record in commanding fashion. The previous mark of 123 kilograms (271.1 kilos) was set by Tammy Walker on the 2019 NAPF North American Regional Bench Press Championships. In her recent performance, Strik broke the record on her very first bench press attempt (125 kilograms/275.5 kilos), inched the record higher along with her next attempt (127.5 kilograms/281.1 kilos), and finished the day along with her decisive lift.

Per her personal page on Open Powerlifting, Strik is a seasoned powerlifter, starting her sanctioned profession over twenty years ago on the 2001 Nederlandse Powerlifting Bond (NPB) Dutch Powerlifting Championships. Within the time since, Strik has recorded an astonishing 100 separate victories in single-lift or full-power meets, each raw and equipped in some capability. There’s prolific after which there’s seemingly competing and thriving in every opportunity thrown one’s way. Strik appears to suit more of the latter description as an athlete.

Here’s an summary of Strik’s all-time raw competition bests:

lelja Strik | All-Time Raw Competition Bests

• Squat — 209.9 kilograms (462.9 kilos)
• Bench Press — 144.9 kilograms (319.6 kilos)
• Deadlift — 209.9 kilograms (462.9 kilos)
• Total — 556.9 kilograms (1,227.9 kilos)

Strik’s competitive resume is generally Dutch-oriented, however the athlete can count various European and International World raw and equipped titles throughout her extensive resume.

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While not possible to verify outright, Strik might be reasonably viewed as probably the most productive powerlifters within the history of strength sports. That makes her latest accomplishment one more impressive notch within the athlete’s lifting belt.

Featured image: @theipf on Instagram