One of the world’s greatest deadlifters continues to break new ground.
With two International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World titles (2017, 2019), Heather Connor has a diverse powerlifting resume outside of her usual prolific deadlifting. Even still, this superstar has undoubtedly developed her household name-worthy reputation in large part thanks to the massive amounts of weight she can pull.
On Nov. 17, 2022, Heather Connor shared an Instagram clip of herself capturing a raw 202.5-kilogram (446-pound) deadlift during a training session. According to the caption of her post, the earth-shattering pull is a personal record (PR) for the athlete. It’s also her heaviest-ever deadlift (in training or competition), finally surpassing her previous training PR, a 200-kilogram (440-pound) pull from December 2020. The competitor wore a lifting belt to help her with her strength achievement.
Per Open Powerlifting, while unofficial because it didn’t occur during a sanctioned lifting contest, Connor’s deadlift exceeds her own all-time raw World Record of 192.5 kilograms (424.4 pounds) in the 47-kilogram weight class by 9.8 kilograms (21.6 pounds). Connor achieved that record mark at the 2021 USAPL Raw Nationals.
Not that it’s particularly surprising based on her consistency, but it’s generally been a steady year of excellence for Connor across the board.
The 47-kilogram powerlifter participated in three major contests — the 2022 Powerlifting America (AMP) Classic Open Nationals Presented By SBD , the 2022 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships, and the 2022 Fédération Française de Force (FFForce) Girl Power. She captured a victory in two of the contests (the AMP Nationals and the FFForce Girl Power) while still finishing in second during the IPF Worlds to potential new competitive rival Tiffany Chapon. That same competition saw Connor set the 47-kilogram division’s IPF World Record deadlift of 185 kilograms (407.8 pounds).
On purely a training basis, it’s seemingly been nothing but raw milestone after raw milestone for Connor.
In May 2022, Connor deadlifted 195 kilograms (429 pounds) — 4.3 times her body weight of 45 kilograms (99 pounds) at the time of the accomplishment and two kilograms (4.6 pounds) above her current World Record. Then, in August 2022, the athlete showed off her leg power on the squat, notching a 152.5-kilogram (336-pound) PR. That mark eclipsed her official raw all-time competition best of 143 kilograms (315.2 pounds) from the 2021 USAPL Raw Nationals. Finally, in September 2022, Connor achieved a 190-kilogram (418.9-pound) deadlift for a double PR; a mark also five kilograms (11 pounds) more than her IPF World Record.
At the time of this writing, Connor doesn’t appear to have any plans for a powerlifting competition before the close of the 2022 calendar year. Connor’s probably earned the right to bask before her next potential wave of strength glory.
Featured image: heather.e.connor on Instagram
