Progression of the bench press world record

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 355 kg (782 lb), surpassing his previous record of 349 kg (770 lb).[1][2]

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 635 kg (1,401 lb), beating the previous record by 23 kg (51 lb).[3]

The women's equipped bench press record belongs to Ashleigh Hoeta, from New Zealand, who lifted 317.5 kg (700 lb) (2023, IPL standards),[4][5] and the raw bench press record belongs to April Mathis from the United States, who lifted 207.5 kg (457.4 lb) (2016, Southern Powerlifting Federation standards).[6][7]

  1. ^ "Julius Maddox Bench Presses 355 Kilograms Raw For New All-Time World Record". barbend.com. 21 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Julius Maddox sets new 350kg/770lb bench press world record". Fitnessvolt. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2023b was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Powerlifting rankings: unlimited class, women by bench".
  5. ^ "Powerlifter sets world benchmark". NZ Herald. 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  6. ^ "The heaviest raw bench presses of all time". barbend.com. 3 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Powerlifting rankings: raw, women by bench". openpowerlifting.org.