Kirill Sarychev

Kirill Igorevich Sarychev (Russian: Кирилл Игоревич Сарычев; born 1 January 1989) is a Russian powerlifter. He previously held the world record in the raw bench press with a lift of 335 kg. In 2016, he set a world record raw three-lift powerlifting total of 1082.5 kg.

Personal life
Sarychev was born on 1 January 1989 in the town of Pugachyov, Saratov Oblast. His father was also large, standing at 192cm and weighing 130 kg.

Sarychev graduated with honours from School No. 1, Pugachev, Saratov Oblast, and then from the Pugachyov Hydrological Land Improvement Technical College in 2007. In 2012 he earned a degree from the Saratov State Vavilov Agrarian University

Powerlifting career
Sarychev first became interested in powerlifting at the age of 15. At the time he weighed 72 kg, benched 90 kg, squatted 90 kg, and deadlifted 110 kg. He soon found a coach, Victor Mikheyev, and made rapid progress. He began preparing for competitions in the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). He preferred to lift without equipment (raw) but was unable to keep up with other powerlifters who competed in the IPF if he did not use equipment.

In 2009, while at the World Powerlifting Congress World Championships in Rostov-on-Don, Sarychev met Andrey Fedoseyev, who invited him to compete at the 2010 Battle of Champions, to be held in Arkhangelsk. The event featured two raw divisions – bench press and deadlift. Sarychev participated in both. Deadlift placement was determined by the Glossbrenner formula; Sarychev placed fifth, pulling 320 kg. In the bench press, he placed first, pressing 300 kg. After this event, Sarychev began training under Boris Sheiko. Sarychev competed at the Battle of Champions again in 2011, winning silver, and for a third time in 2012, winning gold.

At the 2014 Battle of Champions competition, Sarychev bench pressed 326 kg, passing the 324.5 kg mark of Scot Mendelson set in 2005. Sarychev was, at this time, second only to Eric Spoto, whose 2013 record stood at 327.5 kg. In 2015, at the SN PRO Cup of Bench Press and Deadlift, Sarychev benched 330 kg in his second attempt, exceeding the previous world record by 2.5 kg. In his third attempt, Sarychev raised it even further, pressing 335 kg.

In 2016, he set a world record in raw three-lift powerlifting with a total of 1082.5 kg. He benched 320 kg, squatted 360 kg, and deadlifted 402.5 kg.

Creation of World Raw Powerlifting Federation
In 2014, Sarychev founded a new powerlifting federation, the World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF), and became its president. He has stated he hopes to see powerlifting become an Olympic sport.