Coach Ray Williams nominated for IWGA Athlete of the Year
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com
FULTON, MS – Coach Ray Williams has been nominated as a candidate for the International World Games Association (IWGA) Athlete of the Year.
The Demopolis, AL native is one of 16 individuals from various sports around the world nominated for the honor after winning his third-straight International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Classic World Powerlifting Championship.
CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR COACH WILLIAMS
In October of 2016, Williams became the first man to squat over 1,000 pounds raw when he moved 1,005.3 pounds at the USA Powerlifting Nationals in Atlanta. (Video below) IPF raw standards includes: no squat suit, no knee wraps, and lifters have to unrack and walk the weight out themselves - only a standard lifting belt and knee sleeves are allowed.
With a 529-pound bench press and 844-pound deadlift, the defensive line coach set an American Record and unofficial World Record with a super heavyweight powerlifting total of 2,378.7 pounds.
His lift of 1,005 pounds unofficially broke the previous World Record, held by Williams, by roughly 40 pounds. He will have to break the 1000-pound mark in an international competition for it to be an official World Record.
Williams is no stranger to breaking records. During his first-ever international competition in 2014, he shattered the previous world squat record of 849 pounds with a mark of 903 and set a new totals world record when he lifted a combined 2,138 pounds.
Fans can vote for Williams once per day, per device. The first round of voting ends January 15.
If you are trying to vote from a device connected to the campus internet: Unfortunately, the website hosting the voting is recognizing the college's system as one IP address instead of each computers' individual IP address. You can vote via phone as long as it is not connected to the campus Wi-Fi.
