Jonathan Cayco is on a mission. Now, he hasn’t necessarily stated his “mission” explicitly, but one needs only to rifle through his social media to verify that claim. Because after combing through what feels like a plethora of personal records (PRs) and successful training updates lately, Cayco’s profile resembles an athlete hunkering down for greatness.
On Oct. 12, 2022, Cayco shared an Instagram clip of himself capturing a 321-kilogram (707-pound) raw deadlift for three reps. According to the caption of his post, it’s a triple PR pull for the 93-kilogram powerlifter. The athlete wore just a lifting belt to help him with his latest accomplishment.
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At the time of this article’s publication, Cayco’s deadlift triple PR has no connection to any upcoming contest, and he hasn’t announced any sanctioned powerlifting meets on the near horizon. That said — after Cayco finished in third place at the 2022 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Championships — the athlete seems to be extra motivated. It shows with a tear of significant progress on his staple lifts over the last few months.
For example, in mid-August 2022, Cayco logged a massive 260-kilogram (573-pound) raw back squat five-rep PR. Roughly a month later, in mid-September 2022, he may have topped out his endurance when he squatted the same weight but for an eight-rep PR. Now, in the throes of the early fall season, Cayco has evidently added fresh deadlift achievements to his repertoire like this massive triple PR.
For a man with the current IPF World Record bench press of 238.5 kilograms (525.8 pounds) in the 93-kilogram class, it’s notable that Cayco continues to build out his strength with his other lifts.
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In the case of the 29-year-old Cayco, he might be saving some of his competitive reserves for a rebound at the 2023 IPF Worlds next summer. Cayco was the defending 93-kilogram champion entering Sun City, South Africa, in early June 2022, but the young Chance Mitchell managed to topple him with a record-breaking performance.
The aftermath of that result seemed to hit Cayco hard, who wrote in an Instagram post that he was “ashamed” but would also “roll with the punches.” Taken a step further, he had said it was “refreshing to lose” and that it seemingly “reignited” his competitive spirit.
The powerlifting world won’t know how successful Cayco’s competitive rekindling will be until he next steps on an official lifting platform. With Cayco regularly sharing his massive lifts, he appears to be back on a quality track toward success.
Featured image: @league_of_lifting on Instagram
