Sophia Ellis Sets New British and European Raw Deadlift Record at the 2022 Arnold Classic in London

26-year-old Sophia Ellis created powerlifting history on September 24 by setting new British and European Raw Deadlift Records at the 2022 Arnold Classic UK in London.

Ellis' victory is proof of not just her physical strength but also her mental fortitude - having battled anorexia and bulimia for several years before being admitted to the hospital. Following her recovery, she fell in love with powerlifting and quickly advanced to breaking records on a national level.

Apart from powerlifting, she is also renowned for being a vegan athlete and an ambassador for eating disorder awareness after her own experiences of overcoming anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Let's have a look at her record-breaking performance below.

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Sophia Ellis broke the European Raw Deadlift Record at the 2022 Arnold Sports Festival UK

Sophia Ellis burst onto the scene during her exploits at the European Championships in Sweden 2021 when she broke the European deadlift record of 230.5 kilograms (508.2 pounds).

Having lost the record to other contenders, Sophia was on the lookout for another International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) sanctioned event. This chance presented itself during the 2022 Arnold Classic UK, where she set the New European Raw Deadlift Record lifting 240 kilograms (529.1 pounds). This was a 2.5 kg (5.5 pounds) improvement to the previous record set by Agata Sitko at the 2022 IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships.

She also beat her own British Raw Total Record set at the 2022 BP British Classic Women's Championships by 2 kg, aggregating a total of 527.5 kilograms (1,162.9 pounds) at the 2022 Arnold UK.

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Sophia Ellis: All Lifts at the 2022 Arnold Classic UK

Competing in the 76-kilogram division, Sophia Ellis weighed 69.15 kilograms (152.4 pounds), comparatively underweight for her category. Unfazed, Sophia crushed the competition - completing all her nine attempts successfully, where she set a new bench, deadlift, and total competition PRs.

Squat

• 150 kilograms (330.7 pounds)
• 160 kilograms (352.7 pounds)
• 165 kilograms (363.8 pounds)

Bench Press

• 112.5 kilograms (248 pounds)
• 120 kilograms (264.6 pounds)
• 122.5 kilograms (270.1 pounds) — Competition PR

Deadlift

• 215 kilograms (474 pounds)
• 230 kilograms (507.1 pounds)
• 240 kilograms (529.1 pounds) — U76KG European Record, British Record & Competition PR

Total — 527.5 kilograms (1,162.9 pounds) — U76KG British Record & Competition PR

Having set new European and British Records, Sophia has no plans of slowing down, declaring in her recent Instagram post - "and there's more to come."

Will she be the first in her weight category to break the 250 kg deadlift barrier? The powerlifting world awaits in curiosity for her next trailblazing performance.

Sophia Ellis is also a reputed coach, having worked as the England Assistant Head Coach and Team Great Britain Masters Assistant coach in powerlifting.

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