Tamara Walcott broke a world record and the internet with her latest powerlifting competition, all while wearing hoop earrings. The heavyweight lifter appeared at the 2021 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) The Showdown in Kansas City, Missouri, where she made history breaking the all-time raw world record in the deadlifting competition, picking up 636 pounds, Barbend reports.

Walcott did well overall in other categories. She earned a competition best title in the squats category lifting 584 pounds, and set a new personal record on her bench press, pushing 363 pounds. 

"TODAY I DID NOT GO 9 for 9, but what I did do is prove not only to myself but to other beautiful strong people out there is that… you can do anything and everything you put your mind too!!!! I’m not a natural born athlete ….. powerlifting did not come easy to me!!!!" she wrote of the accomplishment on Instagram.

"When I started this journey to getting strong back in 2017 … 315lb deadlift was my goal!!!! Today I exceeded expectations not only of myself but so many other people out there !!!!! I hope I made you guys proud! I hope I did y’all well! I hope you know YOU CAN DO IT TOO!!!" she continued, adding, "I’m so humbled to leave my mark in such a way! I was never the best … but I always operated in the 1st place mentality!"

For someone relatively new to the sport, Walcott has thoroughly surprised her competition, proving herself as a more than worthy competitor at each show. After joining at the age of 33 four years ago, she's only lost one competition — a 19th-place seating at the 2019 USAPL Raw Nationals.

"You just never know how amazing you could be until you truly look yourself in the mirror and SAY! “I will never give up on you” AND MEAN IT!" she said on Instagram in a recent reflection. 

"ONLY YOU CAN UNLOCK YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL! THE IMPOSSIBLE IS POSSIBLE!!!! #ificanyoucan EMBRACE ALL ROAD BLOCKS IT BUILDS CHARACTER!" she continued.

Tamara WalcottThe ShowdownWorld Raw Powerlifting Federation