Larry Wheels continues to shock the world by breaking another world record.
With so many exciting performances on display at the Arnold Sports Festival 2020, it’s almost impossible to focus in on just one as the most impressive or memorable. However, Larry Wheels is definitely giving the competition a run for their money with his incredible powerlifting performance on the Arnold stage. Larry Wheels set the world record for powerlifting by just 0.1 pounds! Talk about snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
You can check out footage of the incredible feat of strength below.
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Larry Wheels celebrated his success on Instagram yesterday, showing a touching photo of him kissing his equipment with the caption “it’s not a personal record, it’s a world record.”
Wheels performed several significant feats of strength during the competition. First, he did an 870 pound (395 kg) squat. Then, he did a 645 pound (293 kg) bench press. To finally surpass the world record, he did an 855 pound deadlift (388 kg), bringing his overall total to 2,370 pounds, which is just 0.1 pounds more than the current title-holder, Eric Lilliebridge, whose record was 2,369.9 pounds.
Wheels broke the world record by the skin of his teeth. It’s an incredible victory, one made all the more amazing by the unusual circumstances under which it came about.
Larry Wheels isn’t slowing down either, he’s also one of the featured athletes that will be the highlight of the upcoming Strength Wars movie – where he will battle against seven other strength competitors to prove himself as the strongest in the world. The film is slated to release later in 2020. You can also watch a first look teaser of Wheels in the film right here.
As coronavirus continues to ravage the planet, leading to the mass cancellation of many sports games and fitness events around the world, the Arnold 2020 tried to proceed as normally as possible. The expo portion of the weekend was cancelled and spectators were banned from events on Thursday amid fears of coronavirus spread. However, that didn’t stop some of the best bodybuilders and powerlifters in the world from showing up and giving it all they had. Even without the fans watching, for them it was about the honest reward of bodybuilding and following through on the fitness promises they had made to themselves. Like Ernest Hemingway said, “You must be prepared always to work without applause.”
Well, all that hard work finally paid off for Larry Wheels and the many other competitors who walked away from this weekend’s competition with trophies. William Bonac showed an impressive display of dominance over competitors Big Ramy and Dexter Jackson and walked away from the Arnold Classic 2020 with one of the biggest wins of his professional career. Men’s physique, which was considered to be something of a stacked division this year, went in a stunning victory to Andre Ferguson over many other pros who chose to compete this year. Reigning champion Angelica Teixeira was also dethroned in the Bikini division by comparative newcomer Elisa Pecini.
All in all, it was an incredible weekend that was absolutely jam-packed with incredible feats of athletic strength and ability. Even though health concerns hampered the event a little bit, everyone who showed up did their best to make it great for the fans. Every single competitor should walk away feeling proud and humbled by their participation in such a beautiful, life-affirming sports festival.
*All images and media courtesy of Instagram.
