Brimbank resident Karl Di Falco is hoping to take out a new Australian record next month.
The athlete will fly to Sri Lanka in November to compete in the World Powerlifting Championships where he said he’s looking to beat the Australian squat record of 256 kilograms for his weight class.
Di Falco has won six national championships and currently holds the ‘total’ Australian record in the 69 kilogram class as well as the record for the heaviest squat lift.
“That [record] would be pretty cool to have in two simultaneous weight classes,” he said.
The sport of powerlifting measures a person’s absolute strength by their heaviest squat, deadlift and bench press lifts.
The sum of the heaviest lifts in each category determines an athlete’s ‘total’ strength.
This year Di Falco will compete in the 77 kilogram weight class.
“Because I’m moving up a weight class it takes a bit of time for your body to adapt to everything and I feel like the strength hasn’t stabilised from that lighter weight class,” Di Falco said.
However, he’s still feeling confident he can perform well.
“Drawing from experience I know I’ve hit the required numbers that I need to so I still feel good,” he said.
Di Falco said he loves the discipline powerlifting requires.
“You get that one opportunity to lift it. And I almost feel like a Viking,” he said.
“You get that empowerment back where you just go to this internal place and then you build up all this rage and you take it out on the bar.”
