Record-breaking S.C. senior athlete presses nearly a half ton
October 7, 2026
67-year-old stroke survivor hits 903 pounds on leg-press days after pursuing Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khure’s globally publicized bench-press PR
By Christopher David Carter
Marine Infantry veteran and military hall of famer W. Thomas Smith Jr. continues to chase numbers; huge numbers in fact. The South Carolina-based amateur strength-and-power athlete recently leg-pressed 903 lbs. “raw” (meaning no knee wraps, braces or lifting assists of any kind). The numbers are 97 lbs. shy of a half-ton (1,000 lbs.), but making the feat all the more remarkable is the fact that Smith suffered several major simultaneous strokes in May 2024 and the former USMC rifle-squad leader and retired S.C. Military Department officer is 67-years-old.
Smith’s leg press PR is not an “officially sanctioned” state record, not set in organized competition, but it is easily a “raw” record for his age at all One Life Fitness facilities in the Palmetto State.
Not surprising says retired Marine colonel and S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame inductee Steve Vitali. “A Marine leader and strength athlete like Tom is the kind of man who will fight his way through hellfire and brick walls to achieve what lesser men only dream of,” said Vitali, himself an accomplished athlete (martial arts and mountaineering) who commanded U.S. and foreign forces in Iraq and Afghanistan during both wars.
Smith’s gym prowess is becoming well-known in Columbia, S.C. strength and fitness circles, though he laments his powerlifting is somewhat limited. “I love to bench: That’s really my thing,” he says. “I don’t squat or deadlift – two of the big three powerlifting events – because of my lower back and somewhat worn old infantry knees. So that limits me to what they call a ‘bench specialist.’ I don’t really like that, but it is what it is.”
Smith’s bench-press is noteworthy: He recently benched 315 lbs. for a lifetime PR – stronger than 99.9-percent of all male lifters his age, 67, and weight, 198, worldwide according to Cambridge University’s Strength-level Calculator. And he benches 295 lbs. for repetitions and 305 for at least two reps.
In early October, Smith set his sights on 58-year-old Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khure’s highly touted 198-pound bench press for 20 reps. Khure’s handlers contend the President benched 220 lbs. for 20 reps in early September, but after the President’s bench video went viral, many powerlifters around the world said Khure’s loaded barbell weight was actually between 178-198 lbs. No confirmation either way, though still impressive because of the number of repetitions even if the lesser weight proves true.
On Oct. 1, Smith benched 200 lbs. for 21 reps, [see story at https://whosonthemove.com/beating-genghis-kahn/]
Smith’s 903-lbs. “raw” (unassisted) leg-press PR was set Oct. 3, 2026.
– Chris Carter writes about strength sports and military/national defense issues. He is a former semi-pro football player and U.S. Air Force veteran whose articles have appeared in Ops Lens, Human Events, Canada Free Press, The National Law Review, The Florida Times Union, Deutsche Welle, and NavySEALs.com among other publications.
