In 2022, the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) will be hosting an international championship at the Arnold Sports Festival UK. The Festival will take place from the 23rd through the 25th of September in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The IPF is offering both classic and equipped, full powerlifting and bench only, and men and women categories including prize money for each. This year’s nominations are quite stacked with current and former world champions from various weight classes looking to battle it out head-to-head for the top prize.
Women’s Classic Powerlifting
This category currently has 18 athletes nominated from seven different nations. Nominated first is none other than the current 47 kg world champion and world best lifter, Tiffany Chapon. Her 118.48 GoodLift Points (GL Points) were good enough to win the best lifter award at the world championships back in June, and she currently stands first across all IPF and IPF-affiliate competitions for 2022.
This competition won’t be an easy win for her though when looking at the other women on the list. Nominated in second is a former world champion and French national teammate, Prescillia “Lya” Bavoil, who is coming in with 118.10 GL Points. When Lya won the world championship in 2021, she put together 120.07 GL Points so she’s more than capable of winning this competition.
Nominated third is also a former world champion and World Games champion, Carola Garra. Hailing from Italy, Carola has been progressing quickly and collecting titles on both the classic and equipped sides. In 2019, she won the world title beating out Lya, and since then she’s continued to improve her total and has put up 117.56 GL Points. This sets viewers up for a nice treat where they get to see the rematch of Carola vs Lya as well as see the overall points battle for the top prize.
And nominated fourth is the current 57 kg world champion and former 52 kg world champion, Joy Nnamani. Joy’s nominated 115.68 GL Points comes from this year but she’s actually put together 116.45 GL Points in 2021. Combine that with the fact of her being a two-weight class world champion and the fact that this will be on home soil, Joy definitely has the experience and knows what it takes to win an international competition of this caliber.
While not as close in GL Points to the top four, it’s worth noting there’ll be many other stars battling it out, including Great Britain’s Bobbie Butters (112.64 GL Points), Norway’s Marte Kjenner (112.52 GL Points), France’s Noemie Allabert (111.34 GL Points), Italy’s Chiara Bernardi (111.29 GL Points), Slovakia’s Ivana Horna (106.92 GL Points), and Great Britain’s Sophia Ellis (105.16 GL Points) and Annie Nelson (105.13 GL Points). This group of elite women consists of world champions, national champions, and record holders who could easily come in and steal the show with an upset performance.
Men’s Classic Powerlifting
On the men’s side, there are currently 20 athletes nominated from five different nations. Sitting at the top is newly crowned 93 kg world champion, Chance Mitchell who hails from the US. Despite placing second at nationals, Chance made it onto the US national team and was able to get revenge at worlds beating the defending world champ, Jonathan Cayco. That performance was also good enough for 115.47 GL Points which positions him as the clear favorite in this championship.
Nominated second is up-and-coming British star, Abdul Majeed “Mo” Sulayman. Mo placed third in the 105 kg class at this year’s world championships and put together 111.16 GL Points for that performance. With a 372.5 kg personal best deadlift, he can definitely keep up with Chance’s personal best deadlift of 383 kg and make things interesting during the final round of deadlifts if Chance slips up.
Nominated third is Mo’s national teammate, Jurins Kengamu. Jurins placed second at the world championships in a stacked 83 kg class. While that performance wasn’t a personal best for him in the total, it was a personal best in points with 109.65 GL Points. This places him at the top of a tight pack of lifters nominated from third to sixth, and within reach of his teammate.
Nominated fourth is mystery lifter Fongang Techap hailing from Cameroon. According to OpenIPF, Fongang last competed in the African championships in 2017 where he totaled 695 kg in the 83 kg class for 97.72 GL Points. But he’s nominated for this championship with a 785 kg total and 109.33 GL Points. How much has Fongang improved since 2017? Are these nominated numbers accurate? Viewers and competitors alike will have to find out on competition day.
And nominated fifth is a former world champion and fan favorite, Panagiotis “Pana” Tarinidis from France. France is coming in full force on both the women’s and men’s sides, and Pana is certainly leading the charge on the men’s side. After a disappointing world championship, Pana has taken his training to another level and looking to break the 66 kg world record total as well as give the top nominated competitors a run for their money.
Other notable competitors on the men’s side include France’s Richmond Baiden (107.59 GL Points) as well as five British lifters in James Adcock (106.94 GL Points), Owen Hubbard (106.85 GL Points), Christian Ayandokun (105.79 GL Points), Adam Fulat (104.55 GL Points), and Dylan Nelson (104.38 GL Points).
Without a doubt, we’re going to see many national, continental, and world records fall. And like in any sport, we’re sure there’ll be upsets as well. So you definitely don’t want to miss out on this show and the storylines that’ll be created going forward.