Karlina Tongotea put up one of the most impressive performances at the 2026 SBD Sheffield Powerlifting Championships on January 31st in England. Tongotea earned her qualification by winning last year’s IPF World Championships and came into the competition as a competitor in the 76-kilogram weight class. Her entire performance was spectacular, but the highlights were definitely the Raw Squat, Deadlift, and Total IPF World Records.
Karlina Tongotea’s Performance Breakdown
Setting records in all events except for the bench press is certainly a mind-blowing achievement and one that requires impeccable execution of a plan. Karlina Tongotea proved that she was capable of it, successfully completing eight out of nine attempts and missing only her final squat. As a result, she walked away with new Competition PRs across all events.
Squat
Karlina Tongotea’s squatting ability has always been one of her greatest talents, as the combination of perfect technique and immense power often results in historic feats of strength. In this instance, Karlina ended up setting the IPF World Record on her second attempt when she squatted 231.5 kilograms (510.4 pounds) raw. She also tried to advance the record by 4.5 kilograms (9.9 pounds) on her last attempt but was unsuccessful.
- 220 kilograms (485 pounds)
- 231.5 kilograms (510.4 pounds) — U76KG IPF World Record
- Unsuccessful — 236 kilograms (520.3 pounds)
*Karlina Tongotea held the previous U76KG Raw Squat IPF World Record of 231-kg (509.3), which she set at the 2025 IPF Sheffield Powerlifting Championships.
Bench Press
As mentioned, the bench press was the only event in which Karlina Tongotea did not set a new IPF World Record. Nonetheless, she still made personal improvements, adding 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) to her previous competition PR. So, her new personal record now stands at 135 kilograms (297.6 pounds).
- 127.5 kilograms (281.1 pounds)
- 132.5 kilograms (292.1 pounds)
- 135 kilograms (297.6 pounds)
Deadlift
The deadlift was arguably the most interesting portion of Karlina Tongotea’s performance. She managed to secure the IPF Total World Record with her second attempt but still had plans for the final pull of the day. Since she wanted to add another record to her tally, Karlina had to load 262 kilograms (577.6 pounds) on the barbell, chipping the old record by exactly 0.5 kilograms (1.1 pounds). Karlina’s lift turned out to be quite a grind, as she needed a couple of seconds to get the bar fully locked out. Nevertheless, everything was up to the standard and she set a Raw Deadlift IPF World Record.
- 240 kilograms (529.1 pounds)
- 255 kilograms (562.2 pounds)
- 262 kilograms (577.6 pounds) — U76KG IPF World Record
*Jessica Buettner held the previous U76KG Raw Deadlift IPF World Record of 261.5-kg (576.5-lb), which she set at the 2022 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships.
Total — 628.5 kilograms (1,385.6 pounds) — U76KG IPF World Record
*Karlina Tongotea held the previous U76KG Raw Total IPF World Record of 620-kg (1,366.9-lb), which she set at the 2025 IPF World Games.
Check out all of Karlina’s lifts here:
Karlina Tongotea has mentioned that this was her “last 76kg comp”, which might mean that she is ready to transition to another weight class. Her time in the U76KG is certainly memorable, as she won two IPF World Championships titles and now holds nearly all World Records in the division. So, it remains to be seen what the future holds for Karlina, but her success is almost guaranteed.
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