It was a historic weekend at the Arnold Classic 2022 and that includes many records going down.
The 2022 Arnold Sports Festival was highlighted by one of the top bodybuilding shows of the season. Mixed in with all of the festivities was powerlifting competitions that saw many records go down. This includes ones from Tamara Walcott, Ashton Rouska, and Kevin Faires.
The 2022 Rogue Record Breakers strongman event took place on March 5-6 in Columbus, OH. Rogue set aside $5,000 for competitors who were able to set a new record in any lift. This allowed athletes to have some extra motivation heading into the show and it seemed to pay off.
Tamara Walcott
Tamara Walcott has put together an incredibly successful career in powerlifting. During this event, Walcott took a brief switch from powerlifting to strongman. This resulted in a record 641-pound Elephant Bar Deadlift.
This happens to be the heaviest deadlift Walcott has ever completed in competition. Because of the barbell, this lift would not count in powerlifting. She stepped up to the weight with a lifting belt and wrist straps to get it done. Walcott was able to complete this lift with ease and it showed her incredible strength.
Walcott broke the previous record that was held by Andrea Thompson. She set the original mark of 621 pounds at the 2020 Arnold Sports Festival. Thompson was there to go head-to-head with Walcott but was not able to top her biggest lift.
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Kevin Faires
The 2022 Rogue Record Breakers also saw Kevin Faires take down a record. This was a new lift in competition and it was the Dinnie Stones. Faires was able to carry these stones 25 feet, 8 inches to set a new record.
The stones weighed 733 pounds in total. Faires was able to control the weight and carry it far enough to set a new record and by a lot. The previous record was 14 feet, 10 inches by Laurence ‘Big Loz’ Shahlaei.
This is not the first record involving stones that Faires has been apart of. During the 2021 Giants Live World Tour Finals, Faires broke the Nicol Stones World Record by carrying them 22.2 meters. He has competed in 14 international competitions and has shown his incredible strength over the years.
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Ashton Rouska
The powerlifting competition at the Arnold Sports Festival was sanctioned by the USAPL. Ashton Rouska has made a name for himself as an elite powerlifter and he was able to show it off during the weekend. This is when the 105kg competitor set a new squat record in the division with an 815.7-pound lift.
This is a record that Rouska already held and bested his previous mark. During the 2021 USAPL Virginia Pro, Rouska squatted 810.2 pounds, which was the previous record in the 105kg division. Rouska completed this raw lift with nothing but a lifting belt and knee sleeves.
Rouska had a chance to add even more weight but decided to accept the record and wait for his next time on stage. This is when he could be able to set another record in the division.
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