{"id":582345,"date":"2026-04-04T19:44:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T19:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/582345\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T19:44:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T19:44:17","slug":"meet-the-9-year-old-who-can-lift-3-times-her-body-weight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/582345\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the 9-year-old who can lift 3 times her body weight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Lucy<\/p>\n

Lucy Milgrim participating in the USA Powerlifting Youth Nationals. (USA Powerlifting)<\/p>\n

(USA Powerlifting)<\/p>\n

At an all-ages competition in Ohio last month, Lucy Milgrim deadlifted 180 pounds in pigtails and a custom weight belt to set her third American record with USA Powerlifting as AC\/DC\u2019s \u201cThunderstruck\u201d blasted in the background.<\/p>\n

The lift immediately caught the attention of professional powerlifters and racked up 60 million views on an Instagram video showing her lifting roughly three times her weight. The athlete who achieved the feat? A 9-year-old fourth grader from Long Island, New York.<\/p>\n

Lucy is now considered among the top young powerlifters in the country after just her first year in the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt really excited, and I was really pumped that I hit that weight,\u201d Lucy said. \u201cI\u2019ve been going at it for a while, and that was the first time I hit it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a youth powerlifter, Lucy is among athletes as young as 8 who compete in bench pressing, dead lifting and squatting. Through USA Powerlifting, the largest powerlifting organization in the country, youth lifters can participate at the local level and progress to regional, national and international competitions. On average, youth nationals include 50 to 100 participants, while local meets typically feature 10 to 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact this sport has on youth is pretty incredible,\u201d said Heather Faas, a powerlifter of 13 years and the executive director of USA Powerlifting. \u201cIt helps with self-awareness and having fun, while also executing these lifts with great form and technique.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Lucy\u2019s achievements are impressing athletes who have been lifting since long before she was born. In addition to her 180-pound deadlift, Lucy set the bench press record at 74 pounds and the squat record at 131 pounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty rare that we see an athlete, especially someone her size, be able, mentally and physically, to lift three times their body weight,\u201d Faas added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a big deal for adult athletes to eventually attain, so for a youth of her age to do that is incredible,\u201d she added, noting that she\u2019s never seen anyone quite like Lucy.<\/p>\n

\"Lucy<\/p>\n

Lucy during a training session. (Courtesy of Milgrim family)<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Milgrim family)<\/p>\n

The achievements and records are especially exciting for the 9-year-old, who says her primary athletic focus is wrestling, which she trains for about four or five days a week with her two coaches \u2014 her dad and Vougar Oroudjov, an Olympic bronze medalist in light-flyweight wrestling.<\/p>\n

About a year ago, Lucy began powerlifting after one of her wrestling \u201cbesties\u201d joined.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really the type of sport where the more work you put into it, the more you get out of it. And powerlifting is very similar in that sense,\u201d Lucy\u2019s dad, Brett Milgrim, said.<\/p>\n

Milgrim said he prioritizes Lucy\u2019s safety. Coaches do not emphasize max lifts, and the training often includes \u201cmicro-plates,\u201d which allow for smaller, safer weight increases suited to her size. He added that proper posture and technique are always emphasized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want smooth reps each time, focusing on postural control and being able to repeat that over and over again,\u201d said Milgrim, who is also a former wrestler.<\/p>\n

\"Lucy,<\/p>\n

Lucy, second from left, with her parents and brother. (Courtesy of Milgrim family)<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Milgrim family)<\/p>\n

In fact, Lucy\u2019s mom, Michelle, added that her daughter has only attempted maximum weights at three competitions \u2014 including the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, on March 7.<\/p>\n

In the video, Milgrim is seen shaking out her arms before stepping up to the bar, wearing a powerlifting belt with her first name, pink shoes and knee-high socks. With her dad behind her, she lifts the bar for a few seconds before releasing it, beaming a smile as she flexes her muscles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I like about powerlifting that I can\u2019t do in wrestling is that I get to put on makeup while I lift and have a pretty hairstyle,\u201d she added. \u201cIn wrestling, I can only do battle braids or ponytails.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lucy<\/p>\n

Lucy and other youth lifters at the USA Powerlifting Youth Nationals. (USA Powerlifting)<\/p>\n

(USA Powerlifting)<\/p>\n

And Lucy says her athletic success is already inspiring others. At a state wrestling match on March 15, a 5-year-old girl introduced herself. The girl\u2019s brother told Lucy\u2019s mother that his sister said she hopes \u201cto be the next Lucy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me feel really excited and great that lots of little girls are looking up to me,\u201d Lucy said.<\/p>\n

Despite her already impressive strength, Lucy is thinking long term.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling,\u201d she said, \u201cand I want to open my own wrestling club and beat my dad\u2019s record.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lucy Milgrim participating in the USA Powerlifting Youth Nationals. (USA Powerlifting) (USA Powerlifting) At an all-ages competition in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582346,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[214424,49,48,407,84,214423,222812],"class_list":{"0":"post-582345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-brett-milgrim","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-fitness","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-lucy-milgrim","14":"tag-usa-powerlifting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}