Tiny, but mighty; 13-year-old Olympic weightlifter Emily Ibanez is one of the strongest up-and-coming athletes in the world. Doubtful? The proof is in the pudding — on Jul. 5, 2024, Ibanez barbell back squatted roughly thrice her own weight.
Ibanez’ 165-kilogram, or 363.7-pound, back squat 1-rep max (1RM) places her in an extremely elite cohort of competitive strength athletes who are able to move multiples of their own body weight.
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In Context
Ibanez is not a powerlifter. She competes in the sport of weightlifting, which tests two barbell-based power exercises. However, weightlifters rely on squat variations as part of their workout routine to increase strength and build muscle.
To help contextualize her strength, let’s take a look at the results of some of the world’s best sub-Junior (ages 18 and under) powerlifters, who do compete in the squat. Per the International Powerlifting Federation’s (IPF) record books, Ibanez’ 165-kilogram squat is heavier than the world-record squat in her equivalent weight class and the category above:
57KG IPF Sub-Junior Squat World Record: 160.5KG | Chloe Tang
63KG IPF Sub-Junior Squat World Record: 161KG | Juuli Kostian
Noteworthy: Ibanez did not hit her squat personal record in a competition setting while in accordance with the IPF ruleset. Her exact weight at the time wasn’t mentioned, but Ibanez likely weighed somewhere between 55 and 64 kilograms.
Emily Ibanez’ Weightlifting Career
Ibanez is beginning to break into the professional weightlifting scene, thanks in part to her extraordinary leg strength. According to the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) athlete registry, Ibanez has only competed in one sanctioned event so far:
Emily Ibanez (55KG) | 2023 Youth World Weightlifting Championships
Snatch: 79KG
Clean & Jerk: 98KG
Total: 177KG
Her bronze-medal performance wasn’t only a noteworthy entry to professional Olympic lifting, it was also a landmark for the sport itself — at just 12 years old, Ibanez became the sport’s youngest medalist ever.
According to an IWF press release, Ibanez also competed in an under-17 national weightlifting competition in Spain at the end of last year. Competing in the 64-kilogram category, Ibanez’ 192-kilogram Total (the sum of her best snatch and clean & jerk) was the heaviest womens’ result at the event regardless of weight class.
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Is Weightlifting Safe for Children?
To the untrained eye, watching a young teenager handle multiple hundreds of pounds in the gym might look scary. Rest assured; not only did Ibanez use proper form and safety equipment like knee wraps and a lifting belt, weightlifting is perfectly safe for children of all ages:
In 2009, a scientific review on strength training noted, “Participation in almost any type of sport or recreational activity carries a risk of injury … A well-supervised strength training program has no greater inherent risk than any other youth sport or activity.” (1)
A 1993 study of Junior Olympic weight lifters recorded that the muscular strength gained from proper strength training can improve bone mineral density and physical resilience. (2)
Moreover, strength athletes don’t max out every day. Ibanez likely performs the vast majority of her squat workouts with moderate weights, refining her technique and building confidence along the way.
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References
Dahab KS, McCambridge TM. Strength training in children and adolescents: raising the bar for young athletes? Sports Health. 2009 May;1(3):223-6. doi: 10.1177/1941738109334215. PMID: 23015875; PMCID: PMC3445252.
Conroy BP, Kraemer WJ, Maresh CM, Fleck SJ, Stone MH, Fry AC, Miller PD, Dalsky GP. Bone mineral density in elite junior Olympic weightlifters. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1993 Oct;25(10):1103-9. PMID: 8231753.
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