SINGAPORE — A wave of relief washed over Singapore powerlifter Farhanna Farid as she rewrote her deadlift world record twice at the Asian Classic Powerlifting Championships in Johor Bahru on Dec 15.
In addition to a back injury that she had been nursing over the past few months, the 31-year-old had also began experiencing a niggling knee issue in the last few weeks.
Due to her back injury, she adopted a conservative approach to her preparations, prioritising training for the squat and bench disciplines and opting not to push too hard for her deadlifts, for fear that it would aggravate her injury.
Because of this, the maximum weight she lifted before the event was 190kg — 13kg below her previous world record set at the World Open Classic Powerlifting Championships in Malta in June.
So, it was reassuring when she was able to pull off her attempts of 203.5kg and 208kg in the Under-52kg open category of the competition in Johor Bahru this week.
She said: "We went into this with the goal to extend the world record and to put on my best total.
"The world record meant a lot too because I was coming off a back injury so I didn't know what the upper limit for my deadlift was and it was a massive relief.
"It gave a lot of hope that there's more to this and that I'm on the right trajectory."
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After clearing her first attempt of 190kg in Trove Hotel JB, Farhanna lifted 203.5kg in her second try before following that up with a 208kg effort.
This comes days after compatriot Chloe Tang broke three sub-junior (14-18 years old) world records at the same meet, which ends on Dec 18. The Republic is fielding its largest-ever contingent of 57 athletes at the championships.
In the lead-up to the competition, Farhanna also had to juggle additional responsibilities such as coaching and being involved in events organised by the local powerlifting federation, leaving her with less time for her training.
This balancing act, however, may have worked in Farhanna's favour.
She said: "It was even more crucial to learn to switch gears. To be honest, leading up to it I didn't have much time to think about my preparation or be concerned about small things.
"Putting my focus on helping others helped me manage my own concerns... But on competition day, I had to force-switch to 'athlete mode' and focus on myself instead of worrying about my other athletes who were competing in the session after mine."
This was the eighth time she has rewritten the record in the past two years. She first claimed it at the World Open Classic Powerlifting Championships in Sun City, South Africa, in June 2022, lifting 197kg and 200.5kg to break the record twice.
While Farhanna makes breaking world records look easy, she noted that it gets harder each time because of the growing expectations from others and herself.
She added: "The older I get, the more I push my body because there's a limit. Finding a balance between pushing myself and holding back is something that I'm still learning.
"I'm in it for the long term. I always say I want my grandkids to watch me compete so I have to pace yet push myself.
"It does get trickier but I do learn a lot about myself — it's an ongoing journey, it always gets harder but I relish the challenge."
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
