Sport
16 January, 2026
Ivess lifts to youth world record
Horsham teenager Jac Ivess finished 2025 on a high, recording a world youth powerlifting record at the Powerlifting Australia Top Gym event in Brunswick on Sunday, December 14.
Competing in the youth 77kg category, Ives recorded a 205kg squat, a 122kg bench press, and a 239kg deadlift, claiming the competition victory with a combined total of 566kg.
Ivess’ deadlift performance saw him eclipse the World Powerlifting Record for the youth male 77kg category, as well as setting new Powerlifting Australia and Oceania Powerlifting Federation records.
The young powerlifter was confident he would break the records leading into the competition, his last opportunity to do so in the youth age group.
“I was really focused on a few of the records,” Ivess said.
“In my training block before the competition, I was quite confident in my abilities. I did a 250kg deadlift nine weeks before, so I was confident in getting the records.
“I was quite happy with what I got because I don’t think I could have got much more than what I did.”
The performance was even more impressive, considering Ivess missed most of 2025 due to an injury and dropped 10kg to make weight for the event.
“Earlier in the year, I fractured my arm and was out for six months,” Ivess said.
“I then realised this would be the last competition where I could compete as a youth, so I probably came back too early and trained too hard.
“I also had to cut about 10 kilograms just to be able to compete and go for the records.
“The cut didn’t affect me too much initially, but as I got closer to the competition, I could really feel it.”
The record-breaking performance highlights the meteoric rise of Ivess, who, with the assistance of Australian champion powerlifter Ben Hogan, has gone from strength to strength since starting gym training in 2023.
“When I started, I realised I was pretty strong compared to most lifters in the gym,” Ivess said.
“I then moved from Snap Fitness to Anytime Fitness Horsham, and it really exploded from there.
“I got great mentoring from Ben Hogan, and with his help, he fixed a lot of my technique and really helped me progress my training.”
The youngster’s talent was demonstrated at his first competition during the 2024 Asia Pacific Championships, where he lifted a combined 500kg.
Asked about his future aims in the sport, Ivess said he wants to keep on getting stronger, with the potential goal of knocking off junior records over the next few years.
“I want to keep training hard so that in my next competition, which will probably be next year, I will be quite close to the junior records,” Ivess said.
“I’m not too far off some of the records so that I will be working towards those.
“I’ll move up to the 85-kilogram category from now because I can’t stay at 77. I’m not as young and active as I was, and it’s quite hard to keep up with the training and nutrition.”
