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Singaporean powerlifter Farhanna Farid set a new deadlift world record in the Open Under-52kg category at the World Open Classic Powerlifting Championships 2022 held in South Africa on Jun. 6.
The 29-year-old achieved this feat by lifting 200.5kg, making her the first Singaporean to win in an Open category and set a new world record at the world championships, reported The Straits Times (ST).
Photo via IPF/FB.
Set world records in both second and third attempts
Farhanna achieved the record-breaking 200.5kg lift on her third and final attempt.
Her second attempt where she lifted 197kg was also a world record, according to ST.
Photo via IPF/FB.
France's Noemie Allabert and Shizuka Rico came in second and third place behind Farhanna for the deadlift item, lifting 192.5kg and 185kg, respectively.
Farhanna did not even know that she had broken the record until later, as she lets her coach and handler decide on the weight to prevent her from overthinking, according to ST.
Photo via IPF/FB.
Powerlifting consists of three components: the squat, bench press and deadlift. Athletes are judged based on the sum of all three components.
Farhanna came in seventh out of 13 in the Open Under-52kg category. She came in ninth in the squat, and 12th in the bench press.
Tan Say Yong, president of Powerlifting Singapore, told The New Paper that Farhanna's world record put her "squarely atop the world's elite".
Two-time Asian champion is also a full-time pharmacist
Farhanna is also a two-time Asian deadlifting champion, having won the Asian championships in 2018 and 2019.
Farhanna, who trains four times a week, also holds down a job as a pharmacist, reported ST.
She first picked up lifting as a way to spend more time with her boyfriend, who is also a powerlifter, she told Mothership in an interview in 2018.
A mock powerlifting meet among some gym friends in 2016 surprised Farhanna and her boyfriend: they discovered that she could pull 15kg more than the national record at the time.
Convinced that she could go on to win, the couple decided to commit to a proper powerlifting coach, a decision that she has undoubtedly benefitted from.
Watch her record-breaking lift here:
Top photo via IPF/FB and @farhannafariddd/IG