The 29 strong delegation from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland made history with dominant performances across the inaugural Championships held in Tartu, Estonia. Powerlifting is a strength sport comprosing of Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift with competition taking place across different weight classes.
There were a number of notable performances across the Championships including, Abby Cooley (Nottingham Trent University) achieving a deadlift FISU World Record of 159kg on the way to becoming champion of the women’s 52kg class with 346.5kg total score. A one-two finish in the men's 83kg class with Zhi Hao Guo (University of Leeds) becoming FISU World University Champion with total of 725kg and Faze Okolo (University of Cambridge) earning a silver medal with 717.5kg, along with a FISU Deadlift Record of 317.5kg.
Odette Tobaiwa (University of Exeter) became FISU World Champion in the women's 76kg class with a total of 468kg, claiming a FISU Bench Press Record of 110.5kg. Jason Wu (London Business School) also claimed a FISU Record (Squat) in the men's 93kg class with a lift of 303kg before claiming overall silver.
Lewis Kelly (University of St Andrews) took gold in the men's 120+kg class. Silver medals were won by Hannah Matson (University of Nottingham) and Alexis Scott (Nottingham Trent University), while Matt Chan (University of Exeter), Ping Hao Ng (University of Exeter), Marsh Martha (Lancaster University), Kate Mitchell (Nottingham Trent University) and Alasdair Wilson (Glasgow Caldedonian University) all claimed bronze medals.
Marc Forrest, BUCS International Performance Manager, said: “We are incredibly proud of the athletes and staff for what they achieved in Estonia. They made history for Powerlifting both for the country and internationally with an array of outstanding performances, medals and records. In addition, we thank British Powerlifting for working in association, to James Brincat-Smith, to Dan Clarke and others for their significant collaboration for the benefit of talented student powerlifters that excelled on the world stage.”
For the full results from the FISU World University Powerlifting Championships 2024 click here.
