Irish powerlifting star Lystus Ebosele has rapidly climbed the rankings in the last couple of years. She was Junior European Champion in the European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) in 2022 and followed that up by taking the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) junior world title in Romania in 2023.
Ebosele is well known as a big squatter. She hit 235 kilograms (518 pounds) in knee sleeves at the 2023 IPF World Junior Powerlifting Championships (WJC) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, on her way to her first world title.
It seems as though Ebosele will be leaving those numbers in the dust very soon though, judging from her most recent training update. She posted a video to her Instagram page on January 21, 2024, wherein she raw squatted 240 kilograms (529 pounds) for two repetitions. Check out the lift below:
In the video, Ebosele used knee sleeves, wrist wraps, and a lifting belt to assist her lift. The first rep looked smooth and comfortable, but she sank the second rep deeper and struggled during the ascent.
The barbell nearly stopped twice, but Ebosele battled through to lockout. In her caption, Ebosele wrote that she had performed the best squat and worst squat of her life in the same set.
The IPF Junior world record in the 84-kilogram class is currently USA’s Amanda Lawrence‘s 243 kilograms (536 pounds), set in Helsingborg, Sweden, at the 2019 IPF Classic World Championships (CWC). Although still a Junior, Lawrence won the Open world title at that contest.
With Ebosele making easy work — at least of the first rep — of 240 kilograms (529 pounds), she seems set to mount a challenge to Lawrence’s squat record soon. Ebosele will lift next at the Arnold Sports Festival UK on March 15, 2024, in Birmingham, UK.
The powerlifting competition at the Arnold UK is an Open class event, meaning Ebosele will not be able to “chip” the record (i.e., she can’t add the half-a-kilo (one pound) increment permitted for record attempts). In an Open class competition, athletes can chip Open class records but not Junior records. Ebosele will need to squat 245 kilograms (540 pounds) rather than 243.5 kilograms (537 pounds) to claim the record.
Ebosele’s performance at the Arnold promises to be something special. The entire event will be live-streamed for free on the British Powerlifting YouTube channel.
Featured image: @_fit.stys on Instagram
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