Edward Ignatius "Ed" Coan (born July 24, 1963) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

powerlifter Powerlifting is a competitive strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight singl ...

. With multiple world championships and 71 world records he is widely regarded throughout the powerlifting world as the greatest powerlifter of all time. In 2015, he was inducted into the

International Sports Hall of Fame The International Sports Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is a section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2012 by Dr. Robert M. Goldman to honor exceptional athletes and sporting figures for their accomplishments and dedication to furthering ...

Early career

Coan started out as a skinny kid being picked on at school, and decided to take up

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...

in his basement using old iso-kinetic cord machines. He eventually moved on to an

Olympic weightlifting Weightlifting (often known as Olympic weightlifting) is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with the aim of successfully lifting t ...

set owned by a friend, guided by the exercise instructions in

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

's book: Education of a Bodybuilder. He got the membership at the Chicago Health Club and after seeing

Bill Kazmaier William Kazmaier (born December 30, 1953) is an American former world champion powerlifter, world champion strongman and professional wrestler. During his illustrious career, he set over 40 powe ...

, started powerlifting with a friend and within six months, squatted .

Powerlifting career

During 1991 Senior Nationals, he became the lightest person to cross the barrier in the powerlifting total (a sum of three lifts: squat, bench, and

deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

). In 1998 World Championships, he set an all-time powerlifting record total at , in the 110 kg weight class. Coan's best total in a drug tested international competition is in the 100 kg weight class at the 1994 IPF Senior World Championships in

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, establishing a new world record at the time. Although serving a lifetime ban from the IPF for doping, Coan is among the people still acknowledged and regarded a legend in the world of powerlifting and spends much of his time mentoring young lifters coming into the sport.

Personal records

''110 kg weight class, in single-ply equipment'' * Squat (w/wraps) – (1999 Senior National Championships) *

Bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

– (1998 World Championships, 1999 Senior National Championships, and 2000 Senior Nationals) :→ ''He has done during training'' *

Deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

– (1998 World Championships) * Total – (1998 World Championships) ''100 kg weight class, in single-ply equipment'' * Squat (w/wraps) – (1987 World Championships) *

– (1992 Senior National Championships) *

– (1991 Senior Nationals) * Total – (1991 Senior Nationals)

Drug ban

Coan has failed drug testing through the IPF three times. He was temporarily suspended in 1985 for the use of

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, an anabolic steroid."Atlas Speaks"
Retrieved January 1, 2012 In 1989, he was suspended due to a positive drug test. In 1996, at the IPF Men's Open World Championships in Salzburg, Austria, he tested positive again and was issued a lifetime ban from the IPF. Because this positive drug test occurred in a competition in which he placed first, his name and results have been retroactively removed from the 1996 results. Coan is now suspended from IPF for life. In 2016, the IPF declared that due to Coan's suspension participating in his training seminars is a violation of WADA regulations and thus prohibited.

References

External links