On Sept. 24, 2022, in the course of the 2022 Arnold Strongman (AS) UK in Birmingham, England, strongwoman Rhianon Lovelace captured a 261.5-kilogram (576.5-pound) axle deadlift. The pull is a World Record within the heavyweight and 64-kilogram weight classes. Lovelace already owned the record in her own class and notched that mark of 233.5 kilograms (515 kilos) from the Clash Pro Series 2022 Clash of the 64s this past May.
Per a post on her Instagram, Lovelace competed on the 2022 AS UK with a body weight of 63 kilograms (138.9 kilos). Which means Lovelace’s axle deadlift World Record was 4.1 times her body weight. Lovelace worked from a traditional stance while utilizing a lifting suit, lifting belt, and lifting straps to assist together with her record pull.
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To have a good time her record and winning the first-ever Arnold Pro UK title a day before, Lovelace couldn’t seem to search out the suitable words to explain her historic achievement in an initial Instagram post.
“I haven’t any words,” Lovelace wrote. “To hit the [record] after competing for 2 days and winning the primary ever Arnold Pro UK, I’m speechless.”
Because the athlete would later note, she decided to reflect on and be appreciative of her journey and resolve in one other post.
“After competing for 2 successful days (with tough competition, so I couldn’t take it easy) to win the Arnold Pro Title, running off three hours of sleep, I used to be doubting myself,” Lovelace wrote. “I knew I used to be going to wish to go somewhere dark to get this done.”
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Even without her axle deadlift World Record and Arnold Pro title, it was already quite the successful 2022 competitive yr for Lovelace.
In late May 2022, in the course of the British Powerlifting Union (BPU) Single Lift British Championships, Lovelace broke the British raw powerlifting deadlift record with a pull of 241 kilograms (530 kilos). Later, while competing on the 2022 Berkshire’s Strongest competition in mid-July 2022, Lovelace broke the general strongwoman deadlift World Record with a pull of 282.5 kilograms (623 kilos) — exceeding her own record from the 2020 Strength Shop Record Breakers contest by over 20 kilos. (Note: The athlete won each contests.)
Finally, in August 2022, she won her fourth consecutive Britain’s Strongest Woman title. She has not lost that contest since making her debut in 2018.
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Now in possession of a bigger axle deadlift World Record, Lovelace was not shy in expressing what her accomplishment at a serious international contest may need meant for strong women on a wider scale.
“We’re witnessing the dawn of a recent era of Strongwoman!” Lovelace wrote. “A time where the perfect Women are welcomed to the most important stages in the game, witnessed by hundreds. The rise of strongwomen!”
Featured image: @rhianon.lovelace.kaosstrength on Instagram