The 2024 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships, organised by SBD, proves to be one of the sports strongest events with a staggering 51 world records being shattered from the 24 super athletes.

Held at Sheffield’s City Hall on February 10, 2024, this distinguished event displayed a remarkable display of athleticism by both male and female competitors.

This annual powerlifting competition organised by SBD is regarded as one of the top powerlifting competitions in the world, primarily for its unconventional format, large prize purse and record-breaking lifts.

Diverging from conventional powerlifting meets, this competition featured 12 male and 12 female athletes from different weight categories facing off against one another. The format, intricately aligned with the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) world records, with the goal for each competitor to break the current standing records in their weight bracket.

The coveted top prize was awarded to the athlete who achieved the highest proportion of breaking the total world record in their class. Moreover, substantial £5,000 bonuses were allocated for breaking world records in squat, bench press, deadlift, or total.

The level of competition demonstrated exceptional lifting prowess. Among the 12 women contestants, 11 shattered world records in their respective weight classes, setting the stage for historic achievements.

The distinctive format of this contest translated into an unconventional prize distribution. While conventional competitions typically reward higher placements with more significant prize money, the addition of bonuses for record-breaking performances disrupted the norm.

In some instances, athletes lower in the rankings earned more in prize money than those standing on the podium. With all ranking able to be found here.

2024 Sheffield Women’s Results

On the women’s side, the format heavily favoured the three lifters in the 69-kilogram class, as the world record total was lower in this class than in the weight class below. This gave them an arguably easier target to hit; this became adamant when all three made the podium.

Sheffield 24 also saw the all-time women’s raw squat record broken; Sonita Muluh confidently took to the stage as she lifted an astonishing 300.5kg. 

Karlina Tongotea has said that a key element of her training is keeping her mental strength in check.

She says: “competing in powerlifting can be full of highs and lows. The way I manage this is with mindfulness, the practice of acknowledging emotions and deciding what I want to let go and what might be useful to keep.”

As well as powerlifting, Karlina works as a general practitioner. She hopes that through competing and gaining exposure that girls see that how rewarding strength training and powerlifting is.

Tongotea went into the tournament with the goal of breaking the world record deadlift for her weight bracket, however after missing her second attempt she realised this wasn’t going to happen.

Afterwards she said: “I decided to let go of most of the anger and hold onto just enough to fuel me for my 3rd attempt. On that 3rd attempt I made the 252.5kg lift without any trouble.”

Tongotea started powerlifting in 2018, at the age of 25-years-old and noticed there was only a handful of women competing at the high level.

Fast forward to now and she said: “I get the sense that the number of women competing is starting to match our counterparts. Even more exciting is that I see more and more teens and young women feeling confident and encouraged to start strength sports.”

Sheffield 24 saw one of the biggest up-and-coming names in powerlifting prove to the world that the buzz around her is worthy.

This flawless performance scored Agata Sitko 109.29% of the total world record and overall victory in the competition, along with the lions share of the prize purse she also moved to the top of the IPF raw rankings, displacing Bavoil.

No one, male or female, has ever achieved more in a single competition, this begs the question of what’s left to achieve for this 21-year-old.

When speaking to her, Sitko says that she is trying to avoid making any lifetime goals for now, as she finds that she achieves them much sooner than imagined.

She did say: ” a 700 kilo total might be something I want to chase but that just sounds so ridiculous now that I am not too sure if that’s possible… I just want to get the word title that’s for sure.”

2024 Sheffield Men’s Results

While on the men’s side, the amount of total world records was less frequent, with only three total records being beaten, yet the competition showcased compelling battles nonetheless. 

Particularly noteworthy was the clash in the 93-kilogram class, where four athletes fiercely contended for supremacy, culminating in Gustav Hedlund emerging victorious, narrowly defeating world champion Jonathan Cayco.

Despite securing the second-to-last position in the event, one of the tournament’s highlights unfolded as Jesus Olivares shattered the all-time men’s raw squat record.

Making a profound impact kilo by kilo, Jesus Olivares left a mark at the 2024 Sheffield Powerlifting Championships. Among the myriad of new powerlifting world records established, Olivares claimed the Men’s super-heavyweight IPF classic squat record. 

In a remarkable final attempt, Olivares successfully squatted 478 kilograms (1,053.81 pounds), surpassing Ray Williams’ longstanding 477.5-kilogram (1,052.7-pound) record since 2017.

Despite Olivares’ valiant 429-kilogram final attempt in the deadlift segment, the defending champion from the 2023 Sheffield event relinquished his title. 

Karlina Tongotea has praised Sheffield Championship for being a key driving force in the growth in popularity and equality in the sport.

She said: “a huge part of this growth is the level of exposure provided by events like Sheffield, where female Champions and elite female athletes have equal footing and are supported to shine just as bright as our counterparts. This is a rare quality in other sports.”

William Islip, Commercial Director at SBD said: “The Sheffield Powerlifting Championships is one of the many examples where SBD is investing in strength sports, to support the overall promotion and growth of our sport. This year the Sheffield City Hall was fully sold out, and a further 310,000 people have watched the event on our livestream. This year’s event saw a large proportion of the audience attend from overseas, bringing significant investment into the Sheffield City Region and our surrounding communities.”

The second edition of Sheffield proved to be a resounding success, characterised by exceptional production values and stellar athlete performances. Tickets for the 2025 event are already in high demand, urging enthusiasts to act swiftly to witness the action in person.