From June 11-18, 2023, during the 2023 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Classic Powerlifting Championships in Valletta, Malta, seemingly countless World Records fell at the hands of superstar competitors. Ukraine’s Anatolii Novopismennyi can count himself amongst that fortunate group.
On his top attempt, the 26-year-old Novopismennyi successfully locked out a 362.5-kilogram (799.1-pound) raw back squat. The mark is officially an IPF World Record in the 105-kilogram division and eclipses the previous record, which Novopismennyi had also set with 360 kilograms (793.6 pounds) at the 2021 IPF Worlds. Novopismennyi wore a lifting belt, knee sleeves, and wrist wraps during his monstrous squat. By the contest’s end, Novopismennyi also notched a total of 940 kilograms (2,072.3 pounds) — another IPF World Record. The athlete finished in first place in the 105-kilogram division, winning his third raw Open IPF World title (2019, 2021, 2023) in the process. The strength athlete also captured the 2016 IPF World title in the Junior division.
In addition to his World Record raw squat, Novopismennyi built his World Record total with a 225-kilogram (496-pound) raw bench press and a personal all-time raw competition best deadlift of 352.5 kilograms (777.1 pounds). In addition to breaking his own squat record, Novopismennyi was also in possession of the previous IPF World Record in the 105-kilogram class with a raw total of 937.5 kilograms (2,066.8 pounds) achieved at the 2021 IPF Worlds.
Here’s an overview of the athlete’s complete performance from Valletta, Malta:
Anatolii Novopismennyi (105KG) | 2023 IPF Worlds Top Stats
- Squat — 362.5 kilograms (799.1 pounds) | IPF World Record
- Bench Press — 225 kilograms (496 pounds)
- Deadlift — 352.5 kilograms (771.1 pounds) | All-Time Competition Best
- Total — 940 kilograms (2,072.3 pounds) | IPF World Record
By any stretch of the imagination, Novopismennyi is not an upstart. In the IPF’s 105-kilogram division, especially, he might be one of the more seasoned and successful powerlifters of the current generation.
In addition to his three staggered IPF World titles in recent years, the athlete has rarely fallen short on a sanctioned lifting platform. According to his personal page on Open Powerlifting, in 17 career competitive appearances as an Open and Juniors athlete, Novopismennyi has lost on just five occasions. He is a former European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) European champion (2019) and also has four Ukrainian National titles to his name (2014, 2018-2019, 2021).
In a post on his Instagram, Novopismennyi used his victory to nobly call attention to an important cause: the ongoing war between his native Ukraine and Russia.
“This victory was very important to me because it was an opportunity to make the anthem of Ukraine spread to the whole world.”
Featured image: @theipf on Instagram
