The junior powerlifting scene has been on fire lately, as two of the biggest competitions for this age class took place within less than two months of each other. The more recent one of the two was the 2023 EPF European Juniors and Sub-Juniors Classic Powerlifting Championships, which took place on October 10-17, in Budapest, Hungary. It was once again surprising just how strong the new generations are becoming, which is especially the case with Temur Samkharadze. The Junior powerlifter from Georgia has been the king of the +120-kilogram weight class for the past three years and has now won his third consecutive Junior European Championship as well. However, Temur achieved something even more impressive, having managed to set a 389-kilogram (857.6-pound) European Deadlift Open Record despite being a Junior athlete.
Temur Samkharadze was very dominant from the start of the competition. So, his first deadlift attempt of 350 kilograms (771.6 pounds) was already enough for him to seal the victory. With the gold secured, Temur wasted no time and loaded the European Record weight of 389 kilograms (857.6 pounds) on his second attempt. Unfortunately, he was not able to successfully lift it, but he still had another attempt left.
Temur Samkharadze came out for his third and final deadlift a few minutes later and decided to attempt the same deadlift of 389 kilograms (857.9 pounds). So, he clipped his lifting belt in, set up a conventional stance, and finally grabbed the barbell with a mixed grip. The barbell then began moving at an impressive speed, and it didn’t slow down until Temur reached full lockout.
The previous +120KG European Open Deadlift Record also belonged to Temur Samkharadze, who locked out 388 kilograms (855.4 pounds) at the 2023 IPF World Junior and Sub-Junior Classic Championships.
Watch the lift here:
Related: Powerlifter Temur Samkharadze (+120KG) Sets a 385.5-kg (849.9-lb) Junior IPF Deadlift World Record
Temur Samkharadze’s Full Performance
Temur Samkharadze weighed in at 152.38 kilograms (335.9 pounds) for the 2023 EPF European Juniors and Sub-Juniors Classic Powerlifting Championships, which is a bit lighter than his usual bodyweight in competitions. Moreover, he missed only two of his nine attempts — one squat and one deadlift. So, his performance was not far off what he expected to put out.
Squat
- 360 kilograms (793.7 pounds)
- 385 kilograms (848.8 pounds)
- Unsuccessful — 404 kilograms (890.7 pounds)
Bench Press
- 210 kilograms (463 pounds)
- 220 kilograms (485 pounds)
- 227.5 kilograms (501.6 pounds)
Deadlift
- 350 kilograms (771.6 pounds)
- Unsuccessful — 389 kilograms (857.6 pounds)
- 389 kilograms (857.6 pounds) — +120KG EPF Open European Record & IPF Junior World Record
Total — 1,001.5 kilograms (2,207.9 pounds)
Temur Samkharadze’s Competition History
Personal Bests
| Equip | Squat | Bench | Deadlift | Total | Dots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw | 889.6 | 496 | 889.6 | 2228.9 | 535.65 |
Competition Results
| Place | Fed | Date | Competition | Division | Total | Dots | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2 | IPF | 2023-06-11 | World Classic Powerlifting Championships | Open | 2166 | 529.35 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | EPF | 2022-11-25 | European Classic Powerlifting Championships | Juniors | 2228.9 | 535.65 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | IPF | 2022-08-31 | World Junior Classic Powerlifting Championships | Juniors | 2194.7 | 530.91 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2 | IPF | 2022-05-21 | World Bench Press Championships | Juniors | 490.5 | 118.69 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | EPF | 2021-12-03 | European Classic Powerlifting Championships | Juniors | 2072.3 | 502.35 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | IPF | 2021-09-23 | World Classic Powerlifting Championships | Juniors | 2011.7 | 496.42 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Temur Samkharadze has only been competing professionally since 2021, but he has already put up some of the greatest performances ever seen among Juniors. He has taken part in eight sanctioned competitions so far, six of which he has managed to win. Those six consist of three IPF Junior World and EPF Junior European championships.
With how his career is going currently, Temur Samkharadze’s path is looking very similar to Jesus Olivares’, who is now the greatest powerlifter in the IPF. Soon, Temur might be one of the few people who can challenge Jesus. Temur is really eager to be successful, and if he keeps getting better like this, he might achieve great success.
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