Johnnie Harris took to the powerlifting stage for the first time over the weekend. Despite it being his first meet, he still managed to crush a world record!
Harris competed in the 125kg/275lb division at the 5th annual Maryland State Championships. The event was hosted by the USPA in Frederick, Maryland, and it would be his first time competing as a powerlifter. Nevertheless, he was excited at the opportunity, and trained accordingly.
It would appear that all of this hard work paid off for Harris when he finally hit the stage. While he is not new to lifting heavy, he had not taken part in a contest. Nevertheless, in just his first time competing, he managed to set a new IPL Raw Bench Only World Record for his weight class. He did this by hitting a massive 655lb bench press. Moreover, he posted a video of the unbelievable lift to his Instagram.
Check it out:
In his first attempt, Johnnie Harris crushed 600lb for a warm up. Following this, he hit the record setting 655lb bench press, and walked away like it was nothing. Subsequently, he decided to try to take it up a notch on his third attempt, adding 50 more pounds to the lift. However, in his final attempt he was unsuccessful.
This lift crushed the previous record of 295kg/650lbs. The record was held by Chad Kalilimoku, and was something that Harris was looking to complete long before taking to competition. Therefore, it was a big accomplishment for him to complete this lift, and break the record. Furthermore, had he been successful in his final attempt, he also would have beaten the 275lb all-time bench only world record.
When it comes to a powerlifting debut, there are few who will have a better time than Johnnie Harris. As this is just the beginning of his run, it will be exciting to see his progress from here. Setting a world record in your first meet is certainly a great place to start.
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