Singapore powerlifter Farhanna Farid conquers pain and deadlift world record
SINGAPORE – With seemingly minimum fuss, Singapore powerlifter Farhanna Farid regained her women’s Under-52kg deadlift world record with a smooth and successful 203kg attempt for the gold medal at the World Open Classic Powerlifting Championships in St Julian’s, Malta on Sunday.
But unknown to many, the 30-year-old was competing while nursing a “gnarly” back injury for two months.
She said: “I could not walk or lift my leg to put on pants or even sneeze without pain. Competing felt impossible but I knew I had to make good use of whatever time I had, to make this meet possible in order to reclaim my world record.
“During the competition, my body was exhausted but my mind was fixed on one objective only – take the world record back… and my body held up just enough for my last attempt.
“The expectations on me felt enormous but I relished in the pressure. If folks out there believe in me so much, I have no business doubting myself. This meet showed me I am capable of things beyond my physical capacity and that I can will myself into achieving anything. The body is strong but the mind is infinitely powerful.”
This is Farhanna’s sixth world record in the discipline in just one year since her first at the World Open Classic Powerlifting Championships in Sun City, South Africa in June 2022. Then, she lifted 197kg and 200.5kg to break the world record twice.
She rewrote that mark with a 201kg effort at the South-east Asian Cup in Johor Bahru, Malaysia in September. Three months later, she was at it again, with unprecedented lifts of 201.5kg and 202kg at the Asian Classic Powerlifting Championships in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
However, in March 2023, New Zealand’s Evie Corrigan took over the deadlift world record from Farhanna with an 202.5kg effort at the Sheffield Powerlifting Championships, en route to a combined total world record of 460kg.
Powerlifting comprises three disciplines. In the squat, the lifter places the bar behind the shoulders, lowers into a squat and returns to an upright position. In the bench press, he or she lies on a bench and heaves the bar up.
The deadlift is the last movement of the powerlifting competition.
The athlete has one minute to start the lift by pulling the barbell in a single upward bar movement until his or her shoulders, hips and knees are fully locked. Once that position is assumed by the lifter, the central referee will give the “down” command. The lift is completed when the bar is lowered to the ground without the lifter dropping it.
The best of three attempts in each event is tallied and the overall winner is the one with the highest total score.
On Sunday, Corrigan was clearly the best powerlifter after placing third in the squat (162.5kg) and first in the bench press (100kg). After effortlessly nailing 197.5kg on her second deadlift attempt to match her combined total world record of 460kg, the 27-year-old had an unassailable lead overall and elected to abandon her final attempt of 203kg.
This paved the way for Farhanna to reclaim the world record after matching Corrigan’s 190kg and 197.5kg lifts.
With her customary sumo deadlift stance, she planted her feet close to the weights, braced and comfortably completed her lift with a grin which broke into a toothy, megawatt smile, as she clasped her hands, bowed and clasped her hands, bowed and fist-bumped the judges before hugging her husband James Barcelo.