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Progression of the bench press world record

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Bench press world records are the international records in bench press across the years, regardless of weight class or governing organization, for bench pressing on the back without using a bridge technique.

The advent of bench press shirts, which support the lifter's shoulders and provide upward force, have increased records significantly since 1985. As of 2023, the world record bench press without any equipment ("raw") was set by American Julius Maddox at 782.6 lb, surpassing his previous record of 770 lb.

The current world record (equipped, with shirt) is held by American Jimmy Kolb established on July 29th, 2023, at the 2023 IPA Tristar Bash meet, when he successfully locked out 1401 lb, beating the previous record by 51 lb.

The women's equipped bench press record belongs to Avory Brown, from New Zealand, who lifted 317.5 kg (700 lb) (2023, IPL standards), and the raw bench press record belongs to April Mathis from the United States, who lifted 457.4 lb (2016, Southern Powerlifting Federation standards).

Before 1973

WeightYearRecordGear
164 kg1898last = Katterlefirst = Sdate = February 2015title = Power Surge: The Bench Press - History, Records and Raw Liftspublisher = Ironman Magazinepages = 237}}raw
165 kg1916Joe Nordquest presses 165 kg (364 lb) from the floor.raw
227 kgearly 1950sDoug Hepburn becomes the first man to bench press 400, 450, and 500 lb. In November 1950 he pressed 400 lb. He pressed 450 lb in 1951, and 500 lb on May 28, 1953.raw
263 kg1953Doug Hepburn presses 263 kg (580 lb) in training, using a "collar to collar" grip and a slight bounce on the chest.raw
250 kg1957Doug Hepburn presses 250 kg (550 lb) in Portland, Oregon. He would follow this lift with an unsuccessful attempt at 272.5 kg (600 lb) that resulted in a severe shoulder injury.raw
281 kg1957Paul Anderson presses 281 kg (620 lb) unofficially.raw
565 lb1959Bruno Sammartino presses 256 kg (565 lb).raw
615.5 lb1967Pat Casey presses 279 kg (615.5 lb) on March 25, 1967 and becomes the first man to bench press over 600 lb officially.raw
288 kg1971Jim Williams presses 288 kg (635 lb) at the Eastern USA Open. Then in November, he presses 300 kg (661 lb).raw
306 kg1972Jim Williams presses 306 kg (675 lb) with only ace bandages on his elbows, wearing a T-shirt on November 9, at the 1972 AAU World Powerlifting Championships. Williams' best performance in the bench press was 326.5 kg (720 lbs) unofficially.raw

Foundation of the IPF

With the foundation of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF), the federation began keeping "official" powerlifting world records as the international governing body for the sport of powerlifting. Previous records which hadn't been set within the newly established rules, were reset (for example, elbow bandages had been allowed prior to the formation of the IPF, but were later outlawed). These are the official bench press records after the IPF-reset until they surpass the previously set mark of 306 kg (675 lb) by Jim Williams.

WeightYearRecordGear
263 kg1973url=http://en.allpowerlifting.com/lifters/USA/reinhoudt-don-6947/title=Reinhoudt Donald C.publisher=en.allpowerlifting.com}}raw
267.5 kg1974Don Reinhoudt presses 267.5 kg (590 lb) raw at the AAU Senior National Championships in Fort Worth, Texas on September 1, 1974.raw
275.5 kg1975Don Reinhoudt presses 275.5 kg (607 lb) raw on May 3, 1975 in Chattanooga.raw
276.5 kg1977url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093013/archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703044949/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093013url-status=deadarchive-date=July 3, 2013title=The pleasure of being The World's Strongest Womanlast=Pileggifirst=Sarahpublisher=sportsillustrated.cnn.com}}raw
277.5 kg1978Doug Young presses 277.5 kg (612 lb) on April 3, 1978 in El Dorado, Arkansas.raw
278 kg1979url=http://en.allpowerlifting.com/lifters/SWE/hedlund-lars-461/title=Hedlund Larspublisher=en.allpowerlifting.com}}raw
280 kg1979url=http://www.samson-power.com/ASL/kazstats.htmltitle=American Strength Legends: Bill Kazmaier (career statistics)publisher=Samson-power.comdate=1998-06-28accessdate=2012-10-04}} on July 8 at the USPF Nationals in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and then breaks his own record with 282.5 kg (623 lb) on November 4, 1979 in Dayton, Ohio at the IPF Men's World Powerlifting Championships.raw
285 kg1980Lars Hedlund presses 285 kg (628 lb) on March 4, 1980 Copenhagen.raw
287.5 kg1980title=1980 World Series of Powerlifting part 2/3url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpmkgzEQpMUarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222103056/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpmkgzEQpMUarchive-date=2012-12-22url-status=deadwebsite=YouTube.com}}raw
300 kg1981Bill Kazmaier first presses 290 kg (639 lb) and then 300 kg (661 lb) at the USPF West Georgia Open Powerlifting Championships, held in Columbus, Georgia on January 31, 1981 to become the first human to officially bench press 300 kg (661 lb) (raw) in an IPF-sanctioned meet (and without elbow wraps).raw
302.5 kg1984Ted Arcidi presses 302.5 kg (667 lb) without wrist wraps on April 1, 1984 in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Hawaiian Internationals at only 286 lb (130 kg) bodyweight.raw

Equipped (with bench shirt)

WeightYearRecordGear
320 kg1985Ted Arcidi first presses 307.5 kg (678 lb) and then becomes the first man to bench press over 700 lb with a lift of 705.75 lb (320 kg), performed without wrist wraps, but with one of the first prototype supportive bench press shirts, which was 50% polyester and 50% cotton and only one layer thick.shirt
718 lb1990url=http://www.strengthfighter.com/2011/05/worlds-strongest-man-of-wrestling.htmlwork=PYGODpublisher=strengthfighter.comtitle=World's Strongest Man of... Wrestling}}shirt
725 lb1993Anthony Clark presses 329 kg (725 lb) in May and then on September 25, breaks his own record with a 333.5 kg (735 lb) lift at the USPF Northwest Open.shirt
738 lb1994Anthony Clark presses 335 kg (738 lb).shirt
335.5 kg1995Jamie Harris presses 335.5 kg (740 lb) at the APF State Championships in March 1995.shirt
336 kg1995Chris Confessore presses 336 kg (741 lb) at only 236 lb (107 kg) bodyweight on June 17, 1995.shirt
340 kg1995Anthony Clark presses 339 kg (748 lb) and 340 kg (750 lb) at the Great Bench Press of America Meet in Texas.shirt
770 lb1996Anthony Clark presses 349 kg (770 lb) and later 354 kg (780 lb) in September 1996 at the Mr. Olympia.shirt
356 kg1997Anthony Clark presses 356 kg (785 lb).shirt
364 kg1999url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1017054/index.htmtitle=A Historic Benchmark: Tim Isaac is the first to bench-press 800 lbdate=1999-09-20accessdate=2008-12-31last=Waltersfirst=Jpublisher=Sports Illustratedurl-status=deadarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123071618/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1017054/index.htmarchive-date=2009-01-23 }}shirt
900 lb2003Gene Rychlak is the first man to bench press 900 lb (408 kg).shirt
1004 lb2004title = Rychlak presses onwardurl = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=YK&p_theme=yk&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=11672510BB5521F8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePMpublisher = York Daily Recordaccessdate = 2009-01-02date = 2006-12-30last = Seipfirst = J }}shirt
457 kg2006url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3ryTYfVR70archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/g3ryTYfVR70archive-date=2021-12-14url-status=livetitle=Scot Mendelson's 1008lb record bench press 2/18/2006 at Fit Expo in Pasadena, CApublisher=YouTube.com}}shirt
458 kg2006Gene Rychlak presses 458 kg (1,010 lb) (December 16).shirt
470 kg2007Ryan Kennelly presses 470 kg (1,036 lb) (September 22–23).shirt
1050 lb2007Ryan Kennelly presses 476 kg (1,050 lb) on December 1, at the APA Northwest Open in Kennewick, Washington.shirt
1070 lb2008Ryan Kennelly presses 485 kg (1,070 lb) on April 12, at the APA Northwest Iron War in Kennewick, Washington.shirt
487 kg2008Ryan Kennelly presses 487 kg (1,074 lb) (July 13).shirt
487.5 kg2008Ryan Kennelly presses 487.5 kg (1,075 lb) on November 8, at the Pride Strength Wars in Kennewick, Washington.shirt
488.5 kg2013Tiny Meeker presses 488.5 kg (1,077 lb) on April 13, at the SPF Texas State Powerlifting Championship.shirt
500 kg2013Tiny Meeker presses 500 kg (1,102 lb) at the Cajun Hardcore Powerlifting Meet, December 14 in Buena, Texas.shirt
501 kg2020Will Barotti presses 501 kg (1,105 lb) on June 20 at the Metal Militia Power Wars.shirt
503.5 kg2020Will Barotti presses 503.5 kg (1,110 lb) on December 12 at the Metal Militia World Championships.shirt
508 kg2021Jimmy Kolb presses 508 kg (1,120 lb) on June 27 at the IPA Strength Spectacular Powerlifting Championships.shirt
1125 lb2021Tiny Meeker presses 510 kg (1,125 lb) on November 20 at the IPA Nationals Powerlifting Championships.shirt
512.5 kg2022Bill Gillespie presses 512.5 kg (1,130 lb) on January 22 at the 365Strong New Year Power Bash.shirt
1320 lb2022Jimmy Kolb presses 599 kg (1,320 lb) on February 27 at the 2022 IPA Pennsylvania State Powerlifting Championships.shirt
1350 lb2023last=Lockridgefirst=Rogerdate=2023-02-04title=Jimmy Kolb Bench Presses 612.5 Kilograms (1,350 Pounds) Equipped, the Heaviest Single Lift in Powerlifting Historyurl=https://barbend.com/jimmy-kolb-bench-presses-612-kilograms-equipped/access-date=2023-02-08website=BarBendlanguage=en-US}}shirt
1401 lb2023last=Lockridgefirst=Rogerdate=2023-07-29title=Jimmy Kolb Bench Presses 635.4 Kilograms (1,400.82 Pounds) Equipped, the Heaviest Single Lift in Powerlifting Historyurl=https://barbend.com/jimmy-kolb-sets-new-all-time-equipped-bench-press-world-record-635-kilograms/access-date=2023-08-01website=BarBendlanguage=en-US}}shirt

***** note: Anthony Clark performed a controversial 800-pound bench press at the Arnold Classic in 1997, 2 years before Tim Isaac. This lift was, however, later turned down.

Unequipped (without bench shirt)

For the bench press to be considered raw, no bench shirts are allowed; however, wrist wraps, singlets and belts are allowed. Elbow bandages had been allowed prior to the formation of the IPF, but were later outlawed.

WeightYearRecordGear
705 lb1996James Henderson presses 320 kg (705 lb) raw in a T-shirt without wrist wraps or a belt to become the second man to bench press over 700 lb raw (and the first to have done so in official competition), in May 1996.raw
322.5 kg1997James Henderson first presses 700 lb (317.5 kg) and on a later attempt the same day 711 lb (322.5 kg) raw without wrist wraps or a belt on July 13, 1997, at the USPF Senior Nationals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (full three-lift-meet). Today, it is still the highest bench press ever performed in a drug-tested competition as well as the highest ever done in an IPF-sanctioned three-lift-meet.raw
713 lb2003url=http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/records/600-pound-raw-bench-presstitle=600 Pound Unequipped Bench Press Hall of Famelast=Vasquezfirst=Johnnypublisher=powerliftingwatch.com}}raw
715 lb2005url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bu9csQC45carchive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/6bu9csQC45carchive-date=2021-12-14url-status=livetitle=Scot Mendelson 715 raw bench press world recordpublisher=YouTube.com}}raw
716 lb2013url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwzXjry6s6garchive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/xwzXjry6s6garchive-date=2021-12-14url-status=livetitle=Eric Spoto 722 lb (327.5 kg) world record raw bench press - official video RetroPLwork=SuperTraining.TVpublisher=YouTube.com}}raw
335 kg2015Kirill Sarychev presses 335 kg (739 lb) with wrist wraps and without a belt on November 22, 2015, at the SN-Pro Cup.raw
335.5 kg2019Julius Maddox presses 335.5 kg (740 lb) with wrist wraps and without a belt on August 31, 2019, at the Boss of Bosses 6.raw
337.5 kg2019Julius Maddox presses 337.5 kg (744 lb) with wrist wraps and without a belt on November 17, 2019, at the Rob Hall Classic.raw
770 lb2020title=How to watch Julius Maddox's 362kg bench press world record attemptdate=19 June 2020url=https://uk.style.yahoo.com/watch-julius-maddoxs-362kg-bench-093600136.htmlpublisher=uk.style.yahoo.com}}raw
783 lb2021Julius Maddox presses 783 lb with wrist wraps and without a belt on February 21, 2021, at the Ghost Strong Hybrid Showdown.raw

IPC powerlifting

International Paralympic Committee regulates unequipped paralympic powerlifting competition without wrist wraps or belt.

WeightYearRecordGear
291 kg2011Siamand Rahman presses 291 kg (642 lb) (December 4, 2011)raw
295 kg2015Siamand Rahman presses 295 kg (650 lb) on July 30, 2015, at the 2015 IPC Powerlifting Asian Open Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstanraw
310 kg2016Siamand Rahman presses 310 kg (683 lb) on September 14, 2016, at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.raw

References

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