At the Classic World Championships in Malta, Sophia was up against an all star cast of elite lifters. with multiple world champions and world record holders doing battle in one of the most highly anticipated sessions of the whole event.
She went steady on squat, getting all three in and finishing on a lifetime best of 177.5kg. This left her in 16th place but this was not unexpected and her opening bench of 110kg rocketed her all the way up to 10th place in one move. An easy looking 120kg for her third was enough to take the bench bronze medal and sneak up a couple more places to 8th.
Sophia holds the European deadlift record and, for while, had the biggest female deadlift in British Powerlifting. That mantle may have passed on but she remains the lightest woman in BP to pull 240+ and her deadlifts were on fire in Malta. Her 225kg opener was super easy and pulled her up to 6th.
237.5kg for her second attempt had just a moment of hesitation at the top - the only real indication that more weight had been added to the bar. This moved Sophia up another place and looked like she had capacity to go up.
Sophia loaded up 245kg for her final pull - a new European deadlift record and a British total record on the line as well as her placing in the world championships. She looked focused as she set up, flicked her braid over her head and started to pull. The bar flew to mid thigh and there was just a moment of pause and pulling back and then a huge smile flashed at the top. Three white lights, 4th place overall and the deadlift gold medal. A phenomenal result from a lifter that just keeps improving.
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