Marianna Gasparyan broke three records this past weekend at the Kern US Open in San Diego, and set a new all-time high Wilks score.
Kicking off her record-breaking performance, the 123-pound lifter completed a record squat of 260kg (573 pounds). The squat was not only 4.6 times her competition bodyweight, but it topped fellow 123-pound lifter Stefi Cohen’s previous record by 30kg (66 pounds) and was five pounds more than the men’s 132-pound record. Gasparyan moved to the bench, where she lifted 132.5kg (292 pounds), then finished off with a deadlift of 485 pounds, giving her a total of 612.5kg (1,350 pounds). Her lifts earned her an all-time record Wilks score (a formula used to measure a lifter’s strength against other lifters despite their weight differences) of 720.
What’s more, this was Gasparyan’s first time competing in the 56kg (123-pound) weight class since 2016. Since then, Gasparyan has dominated the 132-pound weight class, but she surprised fans by cutting down to 123 pounds in preparation for this year’s Kern. She shared the news on Instagram the day before the event, saying, “So, I can talk about the surprise which I prepared for this “Kern Us Open” @kernusopen. My weight is 56.00kg. I was preparing for a very long time and very hard, it was incredibly hard for me to drop weight.”
We’re looking forward to watching the 30-year-old powerhouse break more records as time goes on. But in the meantime, check out some of her lifts from this year’s Kern below.
