Progression of the bench press world record


Bench press world records are the international records in bench press across the years, regardless of weight class or governing organization, for bench pressing on the back without using a bridge technique.
The advent of bench press shirts, which support the lifter's shoulders and provide upward force, have increased records significantly since 1985 was set by American Julius Maddox at. The current world equipped record is held by Will Barotti, at.
The women's equipped bench press record belongs to Becca Swanson from the United States, who lifted , and the raw bench press record belongs to April Mathis also from the United States, who lifted .

Before 1973

Foundation of the IPF

With the foundation of the International Powerlifting Federation, the federation began keeping "official" powerlifting world records as the international governing body for the sport of powerlifting. Previous records which hadn't been set within the newly established rules, were reset. These are the official bench press records after the IPF-reset until they surpass the previously set mark of 306 kg by Jim Williams.
WeightYearRecordGear
1973Don Reinhoudt presses 263 kg raw at the inaugural IPF World Powerlifting Championships in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on November 10, 1973.raw
1974Don Reinhoudt presses 267.5 kg raw at the AAU Senior National Championships in Fort Worth, Texas on September 1, 1974.raw
1975Don Reinhoudt presses 275.5 kg raw on May 3, 1975 in Chattanooga.raw
1977Wayne Bouvier presses 276.5 kg in August, 1977.raw
1978Doug Young presses 277.5 kg on April 3, 1978 in El Dorado, Arkansas.raw
1979Lars Hedlund presses 278 kg on June 21, 1979 in Stockholm.raw
1979Bill Kazmaier presses 280 kg on July 8 at the USPF Nationals in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and then breaks his own record with 282.5 kg on November 4, 1979 in Dayton, Ohio at the IPF Men's World Powerlifting Championships.raw
1980Lars Hedlund presses 285 kg on March 4, 1980 Copenhagen.raw
1980Bill Kazmaier presses 287.5 kg despite quadriceps injury at the 1980 World Series of Powerlifting in May 1980 in Auburn, Alabama.raw
1981Bill Kazmaier first presses 290 kg and then 300 kg at the USPF West Georgia Open Powerlifting Championships, held in Columbus, Georgia on January 31, 1981 to become the first human to officially bench press 300 kg in an IPF-sanctioned meet.raw
1984Ted Arcidi presses 302.5 kg without wrist wraps on April 1, 1984 in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Hawaiian Internationals at only 286 lb bodyweight.raw

Equipped (with bench shirt)

* note: Anthony Clark performed a controversial 800-pound bench press at the Arnold Classic in 1997, 2 years before Tim Isaac. This lift was, however, later turned down.

Unequipped (without bench shirt)

For the bench press to be considered raw, no bench shirts are allowed; however, wrist wraps, singlets and belts are allowed. Elbow bandages had been allowed prior to the formation of the IPF, but were later outlawed.
WeightYearRecordGear
1996James Henderson presses 320 kg raw in a T-shirt without wrist wraps or a belt to become the first man to bench press over 700 lb raw in May 1996.raw
1997James Henderson first presses 700 lb and on a later attempt the same day 711 lb raw without wrist wraps or a belt on July 13, 1997, at the USPF Senior Nationals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today, it is still the highest bench press ever performed in a drug-tested competition as well as the highest ever done in an IPF-sanctioned three-lift-meet.raw
2003Scot Mendelson presses 713 lb on February 8, 2003.raw
2005Scot Mendelson presses 715 lb with belt and wrist wraps on May 22, 2005 in Worcester, Massachusetts at the New England Bench Press Classic.raw
2013Eric Spoto first presses 325 kg and then 327.5 kg with belt and wrist wraps on May 19, 2013, at the 2013 SPF California State Powerlifting Meet in Sacramento, California. Eric successfully benched 661 lb on his 1st, 716 lb on his 2nd and 722 lb on his 3rd attempt on the same day.raw
2015Kirill Sarychev presses 335 kg with wrist wraps and without a belt on November 22, 2015, at the SN-Pro Cup.raw
2019Julius Maddox presses 335.5 kg with wrist wraps and without a belt on August 31, 2019, at the Boss of Bosses 6.raw
2019Julius Maddox presses 337.5 kg with wrist wraps and without a belt on November 17, 2019, at the Rob Hall Classic.raw
2020Julius Maddox presses 770 lb with wrist wraps and without a belt on March 7, 2020, at the XPC Powerlifting Coalition.raw

IPC powerlifting

regulates unequipped paralympic powerlifting competition without wrist wraps or belt.
WeightYearRecordGear
2011Siamand Rahman presses 291 kg raw
2015Siamand Rahman presses 295 kg on July 30, 2015, at the 2015 IPC Powerlifting Asian Open Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstanraw
2016Siamand Rahman presses 310 kg on September 14, 2016, at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.raw