A dominant performance from Sancho saw her notch this record pull.
Written by Robert Zeglinski
On Apr. 30, 2023, powerlifter Laura Sancho shared an Instagram clip of herself scoring a 263-kilogram (579.8-pound) raw deadlift during the 2023 Global Powerlifting Committee-Great Britain (GPC-GB) Welsh Championships in Swansea, Wales. The power milestone is not only an all-time raw competition best for the athlete, it is a British Record in the 82-kilogram division.
Sancho wore just a lifting belt in terms of assistive equipment to help her with the monstrous pull. She used a conventional stance with a mixed grip. The athlete’s massive deadlift helped her eventually take home a first-place performance in her weight class.
According to her personal page on Open Powerlifting, Sancho only started featuring as a competitive powerlifter relatively recently.
The athlete made her debut on a sanctioned lifting platform during a victory in the 2021 GPC-GB Scottish Championship. Sancho has competed primarily with wraps, potentially making her raw British Record pull even more exceptional in context. The powerlifter is undefeated in six career official appearances (five as an 82-kilogram competitor and one as a 75-kilogram athlete).
Here’s an overview of Sancho’s all-time sanctioned powerlifting history:
Laura Sancho | Competitive History
- 2021 GPC-GB Scottish Championship (Wraps/82KG) — First place
- 2021 GPC-GB British Finals (Wraps/75KG) — First place
- 2022 GPC-GB British Finals (Wraps/82KG) — First place
- 2022 GPC-Scotland Sultans of Squat (Wraps/82KG) — First place
- 2022 GPC-Scotland Bench Gathering (Raw/82KG) — First place
- 2023 GPC-GB Welsh Championships (Wraps/82KG) — First place
Here’s an overview of Sancho’s all-time best competition stats:
Laura Sancho | All-Time Competition Bests
- Squat (with Wraps) — 199.9 kilograms (440.9 pounds)
- Bench Press (Raw) — 112.5 kilograms (248 pounds)
- Deadlift (Raw) — 263 kilograms (579.8 pounds) | All-Time British Record (82KG)
- Total (with Wraps) — 575.5 kilograms (1,268.7 pounds)
Note: Sancho has never logged a raw squat in an official capacity. As such, the powerlifter also does not have an official best-ever raw total.
In her Instagram post, Sancho seemed to beam with energy over achieving this high-water deadlift mark. For an elite powerlifter like her, such an appreciative and thrilled reaction is more than understandable after reaching her goals.
Better yet, more staggering milestones might be on the way soon enough.
“I’m still buzzing,” Sancho wrote. “As I said in November, it won’t be mine long because there’s a queue of units coming, but for now, lemme taste it just a little bit more.”
Featured image: @laureldepapel on Instagram
About Robert Zeglinski
Robert is a seasoned and adept editor and writer with a keen, passionate penchant for the writing craft. He’s been a leader in newsrooms such as SB Nation, USA TODAY, and WBBM Newsradio, with various other content and art production teams, and first made a name for himself in his hometown of Chicago. When not knee-deep in research or lost in a stream of consciousness for a thorough piece, you can find Robert inhaling yet another novel, journaling his heart out, or playing with his Shiba Inu, Maximus (Max, for short).