Powerlifting is a very popular sport on Nauru, and they definitely lift above their weight! There have been a lot of Nauruans who have done well in powerlifting at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and other international competitions. One Nauruan who is particularly notable is superheavy lifter Jezza Uepa. In 2019 he won the World Championships for Weightlifting, arguably granting him the title of the World’s Strongest Man.

Here’s a great recent interview, including showing his training facilities and benching the interviewer like he was nothing. He also has a day job as a warden at Nauru’s only prison.

The comments on the video from people much more knowledgeable about powerlifting point out that the training equipment is extremely expensive professional brands – so take a grain of salt on the interviewer’s narrative about training facilities.

Here’s some clips of his 2019 World Championship win. These are weights that just completely astound me, I can’t imagine how incredibly strong athletes like Uepa are.

You can follow Jezza Uepa on Instagram, and the Nauru Powerlifting Federation has an active and interesting Facebook page.