Tongotea’s squat was an ideal strategy to high a monstrous efficiency.
Through the 2023 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Classic Powerlifting Championships, Karlina Tongotea scored a 225.5-kilogram (497.1-pound) uncooked back squat. The mark is an official IPF World Document within the 76-kilogram division, the place Tongotea finally got here out victorious forward of notable friends like Agata Sitko and former two-time defending champion (2021-2022) Jessica Buettner. Tongotea broke her personal squat report of 223.5 kilograms (492.7 kilos) from the 2023 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships by 2 kilograms (4.4 kilos).
Tongotea wore a lifting belt and knee sleeves, and utilized wrist wraps to assist herself rewrite the IPF report books along with her squat. That gear qualifies as uncooked in a sanctioned powerlifting context. The 2023 IPF Worlds befell in Valletta, Malta, from June 11-18, 2023. The 2023 version of the competition was Tongotea’s debut on the prestigious competitors, and she or he made probably the most of this preliminary look by profitable her first IPF World title.
Earlier than breaking by means of on one of many greatest worldwide phases, Tongotea primarily made her commerce as a prolific New Zealand powerlifter. In keeping with her private web page on Open Powerlifting, Tongotea is the reigning uncooked New Zealand Nationwide Champion (2022) and has dominated in different aggressive energy capacities all through the famed Oceania islands.
Right here’s an outline of the competitor’s high stats from the 2023 IPF Worlds:
Karlina Tongotea (76KG) | 2023 IPF Worlds Prime Stats
- Squat — 225.5 kilograms (497.1 kilos) | IPF World Document
- Bench Press — 122.5 kilograms (270.1 kilos)
- Deadlift — 245 kilograms (540.1 kilos)
- Whole — 593 kilograms (1,307.3 kilos)
After an look in the UK in the course of the 2023 Sheffield Championships, Tongotea has now competed simply thrice exterior of the purview of Australia and New Zealand. The athlete can boast 12 victories in 16 aggressive appearances courting again to the beginning of her profession in April 2018.
In a put up within the 2023 IPF Worlds’ aftermath, Tongotea appeared emotional about her aggressive journey. The athlete, who’s a physician by commerce, seemed again on her super progress during the last half-decade and took in the truth that she is now on high of one in every of powerlifting’s tallest summits.
After all, she plans to remain there.
“I walked into [New Zealand Powerlifting Academy] in 2018 telling my coach, ‘I’ve one yr to take pleasure in this sport earlier than I begin GP coaching and exams,’ and I bought again the message on this put up. We’ve stored this one between ourselves. We remembered it after I gained my first nationals, after I first turned No. 1 in New Zealand after I gained a [World Powerlifting] title, however it by no means fairly felt like we’d fulfilled it but. Now, I’m an IPF Basic Open World Champion of the [76-kilogram division], and I couldn’t have executed it with out this partnership. It feels fulfilled. We did the rattling factor, Dom [Tongotea’s coach]. We gotta do it once more, although.”
Featured picture: @theipf on Instagram