Coweta Powerlifter Now World Record Holder

A powerlifter who has done something no one has done before calls Green Country home.

Dennis Cornelius is a Coweta native, a Tulsa resident, a mechanical engineer, and now, a world record holder.

"Yeah, it's kind of surreal. It's definitely a kind of a humbling experience," he said.

On June 25, 2017, in Belarus, at the International Powerlifting Federation World Championships, Cornelius squatted 386 kilos – or just over 850 pounds – beating the previous world record by almost 18 pounds.

“The world record I hit, I'd hit for a double in the gym, so I was confident…Before I actually get out from the curtains I'm kind of panicking because it's a lot of weight," Cornelius said. "I'll be glad to get this over with so I can rack it so I can breathe…You train for it, so it's, I've hit it before. The worst thing is right before you hit the hole, it's, ‘I hope I don't sink into this.’"

But he’s no one-trick pony. Cornelius went on to win the whole meet with a 545-pound bench press and 738-pound deadlift.

Now the former Coweta Tiger is a world champion.

"Even in my weight class, there's thousands of lifters, so it's pretty crazy that I'm number one," he said.

Cornelius has a goal of a 400-kilo squat, which would be 881 pounds. He plans to go for that at the national championships in October.