John Laflamme - Image via @johnlaflamme83kg
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The 19th Annual IPF/NAPF North American Regional Powerlifting Championships took place from Aug. 14-20, 2022, in Panama. It gathered some of America’s greatest powerlifters, as well as some IPF World Champions. Among them was John LaFlamme, who despite his age of 71, still managed to steal the show.
Recently, John LaFlamme competed in the 93-kilogram weight class, after appearing in the 83-kilogram weight class almost exclusively in the past few years. The decision proved to be very wise for him, since some added weight helped him gain significant improvements in his lifts. Most importantly, John’s squat reached whole new heights, as he set a new Masters 4 IPF Raw Squat World Record with a lift of 198 kilograms (436.5 pounds).
John LaFlamme broke the previous record by a massive 5.5 kilograms (12.1 pounds), despite competing in the 93-kilogram weight class for the first time in two years. Buchs Christian previously held the record, since he squatted 192.5 kilograms (424.4 pounds) at the 2019 EPF European Masters Classic Championships.
For John LaFlamme, this record is especially meaningful because he has long wished to hold the Masters 4 IPF Squat World Records in both the 83-kilograms and 93-kilogram weight classes. He has now managed to accomplish that, since he broke the U83KG record at the 2021 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships.
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John LaFlamme weighed in at 86.28 kilograms (190.2 pounds) for the 19th Annual IPF/NAPF North American Regional Powerlifting Championships. It looked like John was going to have a perfect meet, but he missed his final deadlift attempt. Still, he is satisfied with the overall result.
Squat
180 kilograms (396.8 pounds)
193 kilograms (425.5 pounds)
198 kilograms (436.5 pounds) — U93KG Masters 4 IPF Raw Squat World Record
John LaFlamme inches closer to his 50th sanctioned powerlifting appearance, as this was his 49th time competing. It was also his 29th victory, as he is now on an eight-win streak.
Data source: OpenPowerlifting. Data through July 25, 2026.
John LaFlamme has been powerlifting since 1978, and he is still as good as ever. A lot of athletes can only dream of becoming a 2x IPF World Record Holder, while John managed to do it at the age of 71 years old. That being said, it is not clear what John’s goals are now and when he plans to compete next.
If you have any questions or need further clarification about this news, please leave a comment below, and AndrewSmith will get back to you as soon as possible.
Andrew is a professional writer and a workaholic. He studied sports for 4 years and trained soccer for almost 15 years. In addition, for the past three years Andrew has been implementing functional training, with a dream or a plan to enroll in the special forces.
