Originally published on IPF social media on 29th May 2023
We go again with the battle of the 76s! Jessica Buettner and Agata Sitko were only separated by bodyweight at last year's worlds. They met again at Sheffield but the newcomer, Karlina Tongotea, out-totalled them both. How will it go this time around? Let's take a look at the nominations.
Karlina Tongotea NZL 600kg
Jessica Buettner CAN 559kg
Agata Sitko POL 556kg
Kimberly Walford ISV 542.5kg
Sophia Ellis GBR 537.5kg
The nominations here don't tell the story very clearly. Karlina Tongotea's 600kg total is from the Commonwealth Championships late last year where she broke the world squat and total records. She has put up totals over 590kg three times in the last 12 months and she definitely has more to come.
Jessica Buettner is the two-time world champion and, until very recently, the biggest raw deadlifter in the IPF. She still holds the deadlift world record in this class at a massive 261.5kg. Her nomination is from Canadian nationals where she cruised to victory. She won last year with 585kg and got 580kg at Sheffield recently so this nomination undershoots quite a bit.
Agata Sitko only lost out on the world title last year on bodyweight. At the time of the competition, she was the open equipped world champion and came pretty close to doing the double. Her 556kg nomination is from Sheffield but that was a subdued performance for her due to injury. Still, after a couple of false starts, she extended her own bench world record to 146kg at that event. Training seems to be going well so we can only hope that she is on top form in Malta.
Right behind the top three, we have the legend that is Kimberly Walford. Seven time world champion, she has been lifting at the highest level for two decades now and still holds the deadlift world record in the 69kg class. She didn't have a great day in South Africa when she put up her nominated total and we know she is capable of more.
She is neck and neck with GB's Sophia Ellis who, herself, is only a handful of kilos ahead of USA's Dayna McNeal. Looks like we are in for a deadlift masterclass in the closing round of this competition. I can't wait.
Who are you cheering for? Let us know in the comments.
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