Kula competed within the equipped powerlifting category on the 2024 Arnold UK.
Polish powerlifter Zuzanna Kula isn’t long out of the Juniors but has already made a reputation for herself within the Open category within the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). She brought home the silver medal from the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, AL, followed up with a win on the IPF equipped world title in Viborg, Denmark, the identical yr.
Kula suffered an ACL injury in 2023, which required surgery to repair. She returned to the competitive lifting platform in style on the 2024 Arnold Sports Festival UK on March 16, 2024, breaking the IPF’s 57KG-class equipped bench press world record with an exceptional 161 kilograms. Take a take a look at the lift below, courtesy of the IPF Instagram page:
The IPF’s equipped division allows single-ply bench shirts. Kula is an authority of their use. The shirt’s dense fabric heavily restricts the arms’ movement and resists the lifter’s attempts to bring the barbell right down to the chest.
Kula controlled the descent well and kept her chest high. The bar path was wobbly, but Kula pressed it to lockout successfully and was rewarded with three white lights from the referees.
2024 IPF Arnold Sports Festival Results — Zuzanna Kula (Poland), 57KG
- Squat
- 167.5 kilograms
- 175 kilograms
- 180 kilograms
- Bench Press
- 156.5 kilograms — IPF Open World Record
- 161 kilograms — IPF Open World Record
166 kilograms
- Deadlift
- 167.5 kilograms
- 172.5 kilograms
177.5 kilograms
- Total — 513.5 kilograms
Kula won the general silver medal and 1,500 Euros in prize money — an excellent comeback performance. She shouldn’t be on the roster for the 2024 European Powerlifting Federation (EPF) European Equipped Championships, so it’s not clear what her next competition shall be.
However, Kula is anticipated to compete on the 2024 IPF World Equipped Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland, because it’s a qualifying event for the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China.
Kula was the primary Polish woman to win a medal for powerlifting at The World Games, so it’s a walk in the park that she’s going to do the whole lot possible to return.