UK powerlifter Tony Cliffe is a two-time International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Classic World Champion in the 120-kilogram class. He won in Helsingborg, Sweden, in 2019 and again in Malta in 2023. In between those championships, Cliffe switched focus to single-ply equipped lifting and bronzed at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama.

In addition to winning a second world title in Malta, Cliffe qualified for the 2024 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships (2024 Sheffield). He has been hard at work in his garage gym in preparation ever since.

On Jan. 24, 2024, Cliffe shared a training update to his Instagram page wherein he bench pressed a massive 255.5 kilograms (563 pounds). That’s 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) over the IPF world record in his weight class. Take a look at the lift below:

Cliffe trains alone in the garage of his family home (even when training in equipment). Therefore, he hands the barbell out to himself as a necessity. It was a tough press-out, but Cliffe locked it out successfully, acknowledging in his caption that the lift was “a bit messy.” It displayed that Cliffe has world record strength and has not yet fully peaked for competition. 

The IPF world record in the 120-kilogram class is 253 kilograms (558 pounds) scored by Dennis Cornelius at the 2016 IPF Classic World Championships (CWC) in Killeen, Texas. The record came under threat recently at the 2023 European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) European Classic in Estonia when, due to a coaching error, upcoming Junior Jonah Wiendieck of Germany matched but did not exceed the record.

Cliffe’s next meet will be 2024 Sheffield, where he will battle 23 of the best raw lifters the IPF offers across a range of weight classes. The contest is structured to reward competitors for breaking Open class world records. The main prize money is awarded on the proportion of the total world record achieved as follows:

2024 Sheffield Prize Structure

First Place: £25,000 (~ $31,850)

Second Place: £12,500 (~ $15,900)

Third Place: £7,500 (~ $9,550) 

Fourth Place: £6,000 (~ $7,650)

Fifth Place: £4,000 (~ $5,100)

Sixth Place: £2,000 (~ $2,550)

Seventh Place: £1,750 (~ $2,200)

Eighth Place: £1,500 (~ $1,900)

Ninth Place: £1,250 (~ $1,600)

10th Place: £1,000 (~ $1,275)

In addition to the main prize money, bonuses of £5,000 (~ $6,400) will be awarded for each Open world record broken. Cliffe looks set to mount a challenge on the bench press world record. With the support of the home nation fans packing out Sheffield City Hall, who knows what else might be possible?

Watch the 2024 Sheffield live on the SBD Apparel YouTube Channel on Feb. 10, 2024. It promises to be a special event.

Featured image: @tmcpower on Instagram

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