Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and RCSD hosted bench-press challenge celebrating America’s 250th birthday
FIFTY-ONE MEN from across central South Carolina and beyond participated in the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s (RCSD) 250 Bench Press Challenge, celebrating America’s 250th birthday. The 51 strength-and-power athletes, primarily law enforcement (LE) officers – many of whom are special operators – from three different agencies bench-pressed 250 pounds for at least one repetition but more-often-than-not multiple reps for record. The requirements were simple: The lifts had to be “raw” (no lifting shirts or other assists). The lifts had to be with free weights loaded onto a free Olympic bar, and all lifts had to be verified by gym staff or LE officers.
In addition to the RCSD deputy sheriffs, Cayce Department of Public Safety police officers, and game wardens with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) all of whom performed their lifts between June 28-July 3; participants included at least three NCAA Division I and Division II college football players, a few previously deployed U.S. Marine riflemen and former Army Infantrymen, one Army physician from Fort Bragg, N.C., four S.C. martial artists, two Black Belt Hall of Famers, one S.C. Military Veterans Hall of Fame inductee, several record-setting powerlifters, and at least one competitive bodybuilder…