Australian super heavyweight powerlifter Natalie Laalaai has the biggest deadlift of any drug-tested woman in the world across all equipment types. She also broke the world record twice at the 2024 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Classic World Championships (CWC) in Druskininkai, Lithuania, pulling it to 273 kilograms in the +84KG class.
Laalaai did not rest on her laurels for long. Two weeks later, she returned home to Australia and maxed out her deadlift, loading a gargantuan 280 kilograms. She shared the results on her Instagram page, which can be seen below:
Laalaai set up in a conventional stance, with foot placement inside her grip. She took the barbell in a double overhand grip but switched her right hand to an undergrip. No doubt this is to ensure correct hand placement on the bar.
Once Laalaai began to pull, the bar moved well from the floor but slowed dramatically at lockout. This is fairly typical for conventional deadlifts, but Laalaai was patient and disallowed her form from deteriorating.
A temptation in this situation is to lean back to achieve lockout, which often unlocks the knees. Laalaai did not succumb; she kept stretching up and, inch by inch, got her shoulders back and hips through. Lockout may have been slow, but she got there in the end.
This deadlift, if replicated in competition, would list Laalaai in the top 10 female deadlifts in the world, regardless of testing status — a remarkable achievement for a tested lifter.
Since her first appearance on the international platform at the 2023 CWC in Malta, Laalaai has added 15.5 kilograms to the IPF deadlift world record in the +84KG class that had stood since 2019.
Who Else?
Laalaai is not the only one that has this record in her sights. At the 2024 CWC, Canada’s Brittany Schlater deadlifted 269.5 kilograms to break the record, only to see Laalaai exceed it immediately afterward.
However, Schlater had loaded the exact weight she needed to take the silver medal from Alexis Jones on body weight and seemed to have capacity in reserve. It will be some time before Laalaai and Schlater meet on the platform again, but it could be a deadlift battle to remember.
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Featured Image: @natbubs on Instagram
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