Coach Ray Williams went to the 2018 Arnold Sports Festival on a mission. After shocking the powerlifting world yet again, there's only two words to describe his trip to Cleveland, Ohio…
Mission accomplished!
The 31-year old from Demopolis, Alabama drew one of the largest crowds at the fitness expo when he unofficially shattered his current raw International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Record by completing the heaviest raw squat ever performed in an IPF formal competition when he successfully moved 1,069 pounds on his third and final squat attempt.
Williams opened the day with a successful attempt of 975 pounds on his first attempt before easily moving 1,030 pounds on his second attempt of the USA Powerlifting SBD Pro American Powerlifting Championships.
When Williams called for 1,069 pounds for his final attempt, hundreds of powerlifting fans and other athletes crowded the stage to see the Indians' defensive line and strength and conditioning coach make history for a second-straight year. The lift officially set the new American Record.
Williams finished the Classic with a total of 2,403.5 pounds – 27.5 pounds shy of his current IPF world record total of 2,431 pounds set at last year's Arnold Classic – after adding a 518-pound bench press and 821.5-pound deadlift to take home the title of Best Lifter from Saturday's competition.
Revisit our conversation with Coach Williams from last week's Live with the Tribe segment where he talks about his life as a powerlifter and how he prepared for this year's Arnold Classic: