Heavyweight powerlifter Rondel Hunte hails from Trinidad and Tobago. He won the 2018 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Junior world title by a considerable margin.
Hunte endured something of a career hiatus when the IPF suspended his national federation but returned to the platform in 2022, guest lifting with United States Powerlifting (USAPL). In training, Hunte is hitting personal records (PR) like his raw three-rep deadlift PR of 380 kilograms (838 pounds) locked out on Jan. 12, 2024. Check it out below, courtesy of Hunte’s Instagram page:
At the 2023 USAPL Raw Nationals, Hunte became one of only three tested powerlifters to exceed 600 DOTS (the others being Taylor Atwood and Austin Perkins). Hunte hit a 385-kilogram (849-pound) squat — only one kilogram (two pounds) under the IPF world record in the 120-kilogram class, currently held by Dennis Cornelius.
As if that wasn’t enough, Hunte’s bench press of 262.5 kilograms (579 pounds) is nearly 10 kilograms (22 pounds) over Cornelius’ bench press world record. Hunte is clearly a big deadlifter, having pulled 397.5 kilograms (876 pounds) at the 2023 USAPL Raw Nationals — two kilograms (4.5 pounds) over Inderraj Singh Dhillon’s IPF world record — at the 2023 European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) European Classic.
In his recent deadlift set PR, Hunte reset fully between each repetition, stepping back from the platform and then setting up again from scratch. He performed all three repetitions with the same technique, putting on lifting straps for his final rep.
Hunte deadlifts in a conventional stance with a hook grip — the thumb is trapped between the fingers and the bar. This strengthens the grip and also gives some biomechanical positional advantage. However, it can be brutal on the thumbs with a weight as heavy as this, hence the use of straps on the third rep.
Hunte is one of several top lifters who announced his return to the IPF recently. His path back will be long. The timing won’t allow him to compete at the 2024 Powerlifting America (PA) Raw Nationals, so he will have to wait until 2025. As a result, Hunte’s first opportunity to break an IPF world record will be in 2025.
Featured image: @deadlift_lord868 on Instagram
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