Megan-Li Smith has been a staple competitor at the highest level of powerlifting for multiple years, always leaving a good impression and putting up some incredible lifts. This was the case once again at the 2026 IPF World Classic Open Powerlifting Championships on June 14th in Druskininkai, Lithuania. Megan competed as a 52-kilogram lifter and managed to win her first gold medal in the open class. Moreover, she set new raw Bench Press and Total IPF World Records.
Megan-Li Smith’s Performance Overview
Megan-Li Smith competed at a weight of 51.80 kilograms (114.2 pounds). She successfully completed seven out of nine lifts, which was enough for her to top the leaderboards. Megan-Li was also crowned the Junior World Champion back in 2019 but had trouble repeating the feat in the open class despite standing on the podium multiple times. Well, her persistence paid off, as she won the 2026 IPF World Championships.
Squat
The first lift of the competition did not go well for Megan-Li Smith, as she was unsuccessful in lifting 167.5 kilograms (369.3 pounds). So, she decided to go for the same weight on her second attempt and managed to complete the lift. For her final attempt, Megan-Li loaded 172.5 kilograms (380.3 pounds), which turned out to be her heaviest successful squat of the day.
- Unsuccessful — 167.5 kilograms (369.3 pounds)
- 167.5 kilograms (369.3 pounds)
- 172.5 kilograms (380.3 pounds)
Bench Press
The bench press was Megan-Li Smith’s best event of the day, as she successfully locked out all three attempts, with her heaviest one coming out to 114 kilograms (251.3 pounds). With this lift, Megan-Li set a brand-new IPF World Record in the raw division, meaning that she only used a pair of wrist wraps to help with the pressure on her joints.
- 105 kilograms (231.5 pounds)
- 110 kilograms (242.5 pounds)
- 114 kilograms (251.3 pounds) — U52KG IPF World Record
*Selma Ramberg held the previous U52KG Raw Bench Press IPF World Record of 113.5 kilograms (250.2 pounds). She set the record at the 2021 EPF European Classic Powerlifting Championships.
Deadlift
Moving on to the final event, Megan-Li Smith set her sights on the Total World Record. So, she opened up with a massive 190-kilogram (418.9-pound) pull and followed it up with an even more impressive second attempt of 200 kilograms (440.9 pounds). Although that was enough to secure the Total record, Megan-Li wanted to further improve it by adding another 5 kilograms (11 pounds) to the bar for her final deadlift attempt. She was unfortunately unsuccessful but still walked away satisfied with a gold medal and two new World Records.
- 190 kilograms (418.9 pounds)
- 200 kilograms (440.9 pounds)
- Unsuccessful — 205 kilograms (451.9 pounds)
Total — 486.5 kilograms (1,072.5 pounds) — U52KG IPF World Record
*Megan-Li Smith also held the previous U52KG Raw Total IPF World Record of 482.5 kilograms (1,063.7 pounds), which she set at the 2025 IPF World Games.
Watch Megan-Li Smith’s lifts here:
Related: Tiffany Chapon (U47KG) Sets Raw Squat and Total IPF World Records at 2026 IPF World Championships
Megan-Li Smith is a 30-year-old powerlifter with nearly a decade of experience in the sport. She has participated in a total of 24 sanctioned powerlifting competitions over the course of her career and walked off victorious on 18 occasions. With the improvements that she recently showcased, Megan-Li certainly seems to be the greatest powerlifter in the U52KG class and could defend her titles in the upcoming years.
