Last weekend, the United States Powerlifting Federation held their annual meet in Amarillo, Texas, and Alex Maher blew fans away after setting the all-time world record for the deadlift.
Alex Maher has been killing it lately. The 25-year-old powerlifting legend-in-the-making broke the all-time world record for the deadlift not once but twice in his most recent showing in a USPA event. Maher documented his triumph in full on Instagram — he attempted the deadlift four times, failed twice, and broke the world record both times that he succeeded. Check out all of the videos in the full post below:
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Maher broke the world record in his second and third attempts at the deadlift; first he lifted a shocking 744.1lb, and then he went even further and lifted 766.1lb. His fourth attempt, at 826.7lb, failed. Maher also shared with fans in his post that he was recovering from a past injury during all four attempts, making the news that much more impressive.
“Ankle got stomped and hand got sprained from bullriding but still got it done,” Maher captioned the post. “[Barely] missed 5x bw from leaning too far back before down command but still walk away with a record.”
Maher is aiming at a spot in the 2021 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) and looks to be in good shape to get there. He’s also still fairly young for an athlete in his position and with the right coach and the right amount of training he could go definitely go far in the sport. He’s considered one of the heaviest lifters for someone in his weight class (Maher is 165lb).
The record was previously held in the USPA division by Cody Kelley, who earned the title in 2019 with a deadlift of 562.2lb. Maher has blown that record clean out of the water, suggesting powerlifting greatness in his future. Athletes of today are breaking all-time world records at a rate that is record-breaking in itself because training and sports nutrition have improved so much over the past few decades. That means today’s generation of powerlifters, strongmen and bodybuilders are quite literally stronger than ever before. There’s no telling how many more world records will be broken at the coming meets but at the pace they’ve been going these past few months it looks like a lot of new world records are going to be set.
On a personal interest note, Maher’s earlier injuries weren’t sustained powerlifting, they were from bullriding. That’s because in addition to maintaining a presence on the national stage as an aspiring pro powerlifter, Maher is also an active cattle rancher. A tough day’s work on the ranch will definitely put you ahead on the pro stage if you’re looking for tips!
*All images and media courtesy of Instagram.
