Ray Williams showed his raw strength at the Arnold Classic.
This weekend at the 2018 Arnold Sports Festival, many extraordinary individuals performed many extraordinary feats. In the category of Powerlifting, 120kg+ athlete Ray Williams put on the performance of a lifetime at the USA Powerlifting SBD Pro American Powerlifting Championships.
As an opening lift, Williams opted for 975 lbs, which looked almost offensively easy. The squat is certainly his best lift, and his explosiveness under heavy load is truly unparalleled. After that, he jumped up to crush his second squat at 1,030 lbs. Everyone knew Williams would look to break his own record on the final attempt. He called for 1,069 lbs, which exceeded his previous record by 16.5 pounds.
In the videos you can see the intensity, not just in Ray, but in the atmosphere, and among the Arnold officials. The entire event of the lift was special to behold. Matt Wallace took phenomenal video of the historical squat and Ray’s other lifts that you can see below.
Williams’ final squat now stands as the the heaviest raw squat ever performed in formal competition per the (International Powerlifting Federation) IPF standards.
In total, Williams’ went 7/9 in lifts and ended the competition with a completed 1,069 lb squat, 518 lb bench, and 821 lb deadlift. These gave him a massive 2,403.5 lb total. Williams’ best total to date was 2,431 lbs at last year’s Arnold.
He seems to be pursuing his gift of squatting with a new focus. It’s even possible that he could break a raw 500kg squat in 2018, which would be monumental. In an older interview. Williams was asked what it takes to be so good at squatting. HE replied:
“Honestly, I have no idea, because I have seen guys who were different in every way be good at squatting. But if I had to guess it’s just the will not to be beat by the weight. The guys who finds a way when the weight is just too heavy, and still get the set done.”
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