On May 1, 2023, powerlifter Reece Fullwood shared an Instagram video of himself capturing a 412.5-kilogram (909.4-pound) raw with sleeves back squat during the 2023 Global Powerlifting Committee-Great Britain (GPC-GB) Welsh Championships. The strength feat is an all-time raw World Record in the 125-kilogram division.
Fullwood wore a lifting belt, knee sleeves, and wrist wraps to help him earn the milestone. In the caption of his Instagram post, Fullwood wrote that his body weight at the time of the lift was 125 kilograms (275.5 pounds) exactly. The 2023 GPC-GB Welsh Championships took place on Apr. 30, 2023, in Swansea, Wales.
According to the all-time leaderboard on Open Powerlifting, Fullwood’s raw record accomplishment officially surpasses a notable peer in the 125-kilogram class by 1.4 kilograms (3.3 pounds)
The second-heaviest squat, 411 kilograms (906.1 pounds), belongs to Phillip Herndon, whose previous World Record mark stood for only about six weeks. At the time of this article’s publication, Herndon still possesses the raw World Record squat of 395 kilograms (870.8 pounds) in the 110-kilogram division.
In addition to eclipsing Herndon’s squat World Record in the 125-kilogram weight class, here’s an overview of Fullwood’s all-time raw competition bests:
Reece Fullwood | All-Time Raw Competition Bests
- Squat — 412.5 kilograms (909.4 pounds) | All-Time 125KG Raw World Record
- Bench Press — 212.4 kilograms (468.4 pounds)
- Deadlift — 362.4 kilograms (799.1 pounds)
- Total — 948.9 kilograms (2,171.5 pounds)
Per his personal page on Open Powerlifting, Fullwood has a relatively limited sanctioned competitive history. Including two appearances in the GPC-GB Welsh Championships (2019, 2023), Fullwood has participated in just three official powerlifting competitions to date. He has never lost a contest and once competed in the 139.7-kilogram division during a first-place performance at the 2022 GPC-GB Tattooed and Strong.
In another post on his Instagram, Fullwood seemed to take heart in his latest GPC-GB performance. While nursing an apparent elbow injury with nerve damage, the athlete came in with modest goals and surpassed his wildest individual expectations.
“Goal for the competition [the 2023 GPC-GB Welsh Championships] was not to get injured, break or tear anything, don’t be [expletive], and take a legitimate shot at an all time World Record Squat, to as good of a standard as I could execute!” Fullwood wrote. “I’m satisfied with the results given the condition I went into this competition knowing I wouldn’t be able to put together a competitive bench press. My elbow didn’t break, pec didn’t tear off. Came away with a few small strains and a big smile on my face!”
Featured image: @reecefullwood on Instagram
