On June 11-18, 2023, in Valletta, Malta, powerlifter Prescillia Bavoil successfully locked out a 211.5-kilogram (466.2-pound) raw back squat during the 2023 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Classic Powerlifting Championships. The milestone achievement is officially an IPF World Record for Bavoil, who competed in the 69-kilogram division. Bavoil utilized a lifting belt and knee sleeves to help her with this massive lift.
Bavoil’s new international squatting top mark surpasses her own previous record by 0.5 kilograms (1.1 pounds). Bavoil achieved that squat of 211 kilograms (465.1 pounds) at the 2023 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships in late March 2023. This latest squat helped Bavoil along to a first-place performance where the athlete also recorded an IPF World Record total of 549 kilograms (1,210.3 pounds) in her competitive division.
A first-place performance with two World Records is quite a way for Bavoil to return to the top of the international 69-kilogram weight class. The athlete was the 2021 IPF 69-kilogram World Champion but did not defend her title in 2022 as a result of her missing qualifications for her usual weight class. That distinction, coupled with undisclosed injury issues, apparently slowed some of the progress the 29-year-old had been making in a powerlifting context lately.
In a way, this could be seen as an apt comeback to glory for an athlete with 12 wins in 13 competitions dating back to November 2019, per Bavoil’s page on Open Powerlifting. Overall, Bavoil has now come out triumphant in 22 of 25 sanctioned lifting appearances during a career that began in October 2015.
Among her accolades, Bavoil also currently holds the World Record raw squat (213 kilograms/469.5 pounds) and World Record deadlift (231 kilograms/509.2 pounds) in the 63-kilogram weight class. She made both lifts during the 2022 IPF Arnold Sports Festival.
Here’s an overview of Bavoil’s top stats at the 2023 IPF Worlds:
Prescillia Bavoil (69KG) | 2023 IPF Worlds Top Stats
- Squat — 211.5 kilograms (466.3 pounds) | IPF World Record
- Bench Press — 115 kilograms (253.5 pounds)
- Deadlift — 222.5 kilograms (490.5 pounds)
- Total — 549 kilograms (1,210.3 pounds) | IPF World Record
In just her second competitive appearance since that successful Arnold Sports Festival in late September 2022, Bavoil managed to finish eight of nine lift attempts on one of the biggest stages in powerlifting.
In an Instagram post after the conclusion of the 2023 IPF Worlds, Bavoil seemed ecstatic about her latest victory. The athlete characterized her win as “redemption” and looked ahead to even more success in the near future.
“After my failure last year [at the 2022 IPF Worlds] and a complicated injury season, I had only one goal in mind: to close this redemption chapter and finally open a new one! Proud to be the first Frenchwoman to win two World titles in two different categories! And now it’s road to Sheffield 2024 [the 2024 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships]! Time to really build up the 69-kilogram category for this deadline! I can’t wait to get back to work and show what I can do!”
Featured image: @lya_powerlift on Instagram
