When Kailen Smith clasped his hands on the barbell and deadlifted 623.7 pounds of iron, it was a big moment for two reasons.
First, it was part of the gold-medal winning performance that allowed him to claim victory in his age group during the 100% RAW Powerlifting World Championships, held in Erie, Pennsylvania from Oct. 7 to 9.
Secondly, hoisting up that 623.7 pounds positioned Smith as a world record-breaking deadlifter in his age group and weight class in the 100% RAW league.
“Walking to that final barbel was definitely heart-pounding to me — I’d never attempted something of that weight and on this stage,” said Smith. “It was pretty intimidating to look at the... barbel and say, ‘Okay, let’s give it what I’ve got.’”
If the barbel intimidated Smith, he certainly didn’t show it, as the 19-years-old athlete managed to stack the numbers high in his favour.
In addition to his deadlift, he squatted more than 479 pounds and bench pressed over 292.
In total, Smith lifted more than 1,394 pounds. In second and third place were Americans Theo Vlahos and Daelon Williams, who hoisted about 1,267 and 1,146 pounds in total, respectively.
“[It was] pretty intense I’d say,” recalled Smith when speaking of the competition. “I’ve never been on a stage of that caliber or scale, so a little nerve-wracking, but a lot of fun in the grand scheme of things.”
To keep himself in top shape, Smith puts in about 10 to 12 hours each week, five days a week after he gets home from his job as a maintenance park operator at Alice Lake Provincial Park.
With help from his coach Jesse Bifano, Kailen managed to transform his body into 193.7 pounds of muscle by the time he weighed in for the event.
About three weeks before the competition, he started to decrease his workout routine in order to avoid muscle fatigue during the competition. Smith also fine-tuned his diet to eliminate any foods that would slow him down.
In other words, placing emphasis on good proteins, and not in the form of McDonald’s hamburgers.
Smith said that he’d like to see more people take up powerlifting.
He acknowledged that it can be an intimidating sport to break into, but in reality, people with a wide variety of body types participate.
Contrary to the perception that it’s only open for muscle-bound hulks, you can find different shapes and sizes of powerlifters, he said.
“You can get everybody from somebody who’s 140 pounds and fairly lean looking to someone who’s upwards of 300 pounds and jacked,” said Smith. “There’s no real set body type.”
