As is often the case, there are sure to be ascending powerlifting stars and previous unknowns who will rise to prominence in 2023. Though, one name that will likely soldier on as a mainstay is the prolific Heather Connor. As the strength dynamo looks ahead to another ideally productive year, she capped 2022 in a manner all too fitting of her unique talents.
On Dec. 31, 2022, Connor posted a video to her Instagram where the athlete successfully deadlifts 177.5 kilograms (391.3 pounds) raw for six reps. According to a black bar caption in Connor’s clip, it’s a six-rep personal record (PR).
Ending 2022 off strong. Period.
Connor completed the PR pull from a sumo stance while utilizing just a lifting belt.
A staggering PR deadlift is nothing new for Connor. It actually follows her increasingly growing precedence as one of the powerlifting world’s premier active deadlifters.
Connor is the current International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) 47-kilogram raw deadlift World Record holder, with a massive pull of 185 kilograms (407.8 pounds) from the 2022 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships. After a three-year absence from the tentpole international powerlifting contest, that World Record deadlift helped Connor secure a second-place finish to French phenom Tiffany Chapon.
According to Open Powerlifting, Connor also possesses the all-time raw deadlift World Record deadlift in the 47-kilogram weight class. The athlete set that benchmark when she pulled 192.5 kilograms (424.4 pounds) at the 2021 USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals in a fourth-place performance.
Some of Connor’s recent non-competition deadlifts before she went all out on New Year’s Eve 2022 are also eye-opening. They might even tease inevitable continued greatness for a powerlifter that pushes the boundary with a loaded barbell in her hands.
After showing out at the 2022 IPF Worlds, Connor completed a deadlift double of 190 kilograms (418.9 pounds) in a mid-September 2022 training session — roughly 11 pounds more than her current IPF World Record. Then, not to be outdone (by herself), in mid-November 2022, Connor deadlifted 202.5 kilograms (446 pounds). That pull was more than 20 pounds over her record mark. Perhaps most notably, it was her heaviest-ever pull — either in a sanctioned competition or in general training.
A former two-time IPF World Champion (2017, 2019), it seems as if Connor is gearing up for another powerful run in 2023. For one of the world’s true powerlifting fixtures, it will very likely feature an assortment of earth-shattering deadlifts in the coming weeks and months.
Featured image: @heather.e.connor on Instagram
