On May 18, 2023, powerlifter Mary Duffy shared an Instagram video of herself capturing a 140.6-kilogram (310-pound) raw deadlift with chains during a training session. According to the caption of Duffy’s social media clip, the 73-year-old’s loaded barbell came out to 180 pounds. By affixing chains to each end, Duffy clarified that they added an additional 130 pounds to the strength of her final lift.
Duffy wore a lifting belt to help her with the massive pulling feat and completed it from a conventional deadlift stance while utilizing a mixed grip. This chain deadlift is nearly three-times Duffy’s most recent competition body weight of 52.2 kilograms (115 pounds).
Duffy has been competing as a powerlifter since her mid-60s when the athlete made her sanctioned lifting debut at the 2015 International Powerlifting Association (IPA) Connecticut Ironman Push/Pull Showdown. In the years since, the now Amateur Masters 70-74 athlete has maintained a mostly sterling competitive record, losing just once over the length of her career.
However, Duffy might have true headlines and rose to prominence in 2022 when she crushed a 136-kilogram (300-pound) raw trap bar deadlift with chains. The feat was 2.4 times Duffy’s usual competition body weight, and she has now built on it accordingly with a more traditional pulling position and implementation.
After achieving that trap bar deadlift in the summer, Duffy would go on to come in first place with wraps in the 57-kilogram weight class as an Amateur Masters 70-74 competitor during the 2022 IPA Connecticut State Powerlifting Championships in the fall. The victory gave Duffy her fifth title with wraps in six appearances in the contest (2015-2017, 2019, 2022). What’s clear is the athlete might have her own powerlifting dynasty on hand in “The Constitution State.”
These days, as might usually be the case for Duffy, she’s keeping busy with her strength training, at least according to the occasional tidbit shared over her Instagram page. At the time of this article’s publication, Duffy hasn’t announced any immediate plans to compete any time soon and it’s unclear when she’ll step on an official platform again. If her commitment to fitness greatness says anything, though, it should only be a matter of time for this older but still powerful athlete.
Featured image: @mduff2404 on Instagram
