The 2023 IPF World Classic Open Powerlifting Championships took place from June 11-18, in Valletta, Malta. Lasting for an entire week, this competition saw a couple World Records fall each day. So, as the final day rolled around, everyone hoped that it would bring something amazing to wrap up the competition. While the expectation was that Jesus Olivares or Bonica Brown would be the most exciting lifters, Sonita Muluh was the one who put up the most notable performance. This is because she squatted 285.5 kilograms (629.4 pounds) for the +84-kilogram weight class All-Time World Record.
Sonita Muluh opened up her squat session with a 260-kilogram (573.2-pound) lift, which obviously went up like nothing was on the bar. So, she moved up to 277.5 kilograms (611.8 pounds) for her second attempt. Once she succeeded, Sonita decided that her third squat attempt would be over the All-Time World Record. However, she even made 285.5 kilograms (629.4 pounds) look easy, despite the fact that no one has squatted as much weight before her.
The previous All-Time World Record holder was Bonica Brown, who squatted 280 kilograms (617.3 pounds) at the 2023 IPF Sheffield Powerlifting Championships.
Watch Sonita Muluh’s lift here:
Related: Powerlifter Sonita Muluh Lands 280-kg (617.3-lb) Raw Squat; Unofficial All-Time World Record
Sonita Muluh ended up taking second place at the 2023 IPF World Classic Open Powerlifting Championships. The only woman who managed to land a heavier Total than Sonita was Brittany Schlater of Canada. However, it was a tight battle and one in which Sonita Muluh had the chance to win.
Sonita Muluh was leading the +84-kilogram weight class at one point of the competition and even had the chance to win the competition with her final deadlift attempt of 267.5 kilograms (589.7 pounds). She gave it her all, pulling the weight up from the floor, but could not lock it out despite persistent efforts.
2023 IPF World Championships — +84KG Podium
- Brittany Schlater (CAN) — 693.5 kilograms (1,528.9 pounds)
- Sonita Muluh (BEL) — 688.5 kilograms (1,517.9 pounds)
- Jewel Tasi (NZL) — 647.5 kilograms (1,427.5 pounds)
The last year’s champion, Bonica Brown, was also present at the 2023 IPF World Championships, and even put up a heavier squat than Sonita Muluh. Bonica managed to squat 289 kilograms (637.1 pounds) on her third attempt.
However, she was not successful in any of her three deadlift attempts, which made her “bomb out”. This means that her score in all events was completely invalid since she did not successfully perform at least one of her three deadlift attempts.
Furthermore, although Bonica Brown squatted more weight than Sonita Muluh, the “bomb out” made her World Record invalid as well. This rule has been specified in the IPF Rulebook for 2023.
“Records on individual lifts must be accompanied by a total of the three lifts.”
This was Sonita Muluh’s second appearance at the IPF World Championships and a massive improvement from her fifth place finish back in 2021. She has taken part in some other competitions as well, with her standout result being a victory at the 2022 EPF European Classic Powerlifting Championships. Overall, Sonita has taken part in 13 sanctioned competitions and won nine of them.
Just two years ago, Sonita Muluh was nowhere near the All-Time Squat World Record, as her competition PR at that time was 200 kilograms (440.9 pounds). However, in just two years, Sonita made an improvement of 85.5 kilograms (188.5 pounds) in the squat and advanced her other PRs as well. So, she is now in possession of the Heaviest Squat in the history of Women’s Raw Powerlifting. Furthermore, if she keeps improving the way she has in the past two years, there won’t be anyone capable of matching her in the future.
Sonita Muluh’s Competition History
Personal Bests
| Equip | Squat | Bench | Deadlift | Total | Dots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw | 595.2 | 303.1 | 595.2 | 1457.3 | 532.79 |
Competition Results
| Place | Fed | Date | Competition | Division | Total | Dots | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | EPF | 2022-11-25 | European Classic Powerlifting Championships | Open | 1457.3 | 532.79 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | EPF | 2022-09-09 | Western European Powerlifting Championships | Open | 1391.1 | 521.75 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | VGPF | 2022-08-20 | Vlaams Kampioenschap – Powerlifting & Bench Press – Classic & Equipped | Open | 1334.9 | 502.26 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 6 | IPF | 2022-06-06 | World Classic Powerlifting Championships | Open | 1295.2 | 491.13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | VGPF | 2022-04-02 | Interclub 2 | Open | 1218.1 | 470.74 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | VGPF | 2022-02-27 | Interclub 1 | Open | 1047.2 | 409.25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 5 | IPF | 2021-09-23 | World Classic Powerlifting Championships | Open | 1146.4 | 479.02 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | EPF | 2021-09-03 | Western European Powerlifting Championships | Open | 1190.5 | 483.87 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 3 | FFForce | 2021-07-03 | Silent Worker Meet | Prime Time | 1196 | 487.83 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | VGPF | 2020-09-26 | Corona Herstart – Wedstrijd 2 | Open | 1091.3 | 454.33 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | VGPF | 2020-02-08 | Interclub 1 | Open | 887.4 | 372.16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Data Source: Open Powerlifting. Last Updated: April 12, 2023