Blaine Sumner's 1,113-pound squat was once considered impossible. At the 2017 Arnold Sports Festival, he made it a reality. The lift redefined the limits of human strength in the event.

Sumner proved that philosophy true when he squatted 505 kg (1,113 lbs) at the 2017 Powerlifting Grand Prix during the Arnold Sports

At the event, he also bench pressed 410 kg (903 lbs) and deadlifted 357. 5 kg (788.1 lbs), creating a total of 1,272 kg (2804 lbs), which was a world record at that time.

It is records like these that have earned Blaine Sumner the 'Vanilla Gorilla' moniker. In fact, he holds the most records in the super heavyweight category in IPF (Equipped) history.

He competes in the 120 kg + division and was the first American male athlete to win a gold at the IPF 2012 Classic World Championship. Yet, his massive strength wasn't something he always had.

Sumner has revealed in interviews that he started his strength training journey when he weighed 145 lbs while standing at 6' 1" as a high school freshman.

Yet, not only did Sumner go from a lanky high schooler to a record-holding powerlifter, her broke his own squat record just three years after 2017.

Blaine Sumner made history in 2020

Just when everyone thought that his 2017 feat could not be matched, Blaine Sumner proved everyone wrong by breaking his own record at the 2020 Arnold Sports Festival.

In a mesmerizing performance of strength at the USA Powerlifting Arnold Grand Prix 2020, Blaine Sumner broke all three of his previous records from 2017 and stunned everyone present. The records include:

• Squat: 515kg (1,135 lbs)
• Bench Press: 426kg (939 lbs)
• Deadlift: 355kg (782 lbs)
• Total: 1,296kg (2,857 lbs)

Reminiscing about his record-breaking squat just ahead of the 2022 Arnold Sports Festival, Blaine Sumner wrote. "The last time the Arnold rolled around, I hit the biggest single ply squat of all-time with this 1,135 pounds!"

What do you think of this powerhouse athlete? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi