New world record holder
Ocala’s Guy Marwick is a world champion men’s strict curl weightlifter.
Guy Marwick, left, who earned his new world record in Virginia recently, was given his medal by world class referee Jeremy Wright. [Submitted photo]
For decades, Guy Marwick has been a heavy lifter in the realms of education and environmental advocacy.
Marwick was, for example, the founder of the Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center, which is part of the Marion County Public Schools System. As the former president and a longtime board member of the Felburn Foundation, he helped conserve thousands of acres of land and led a campaign that resulted in the creation of the Indian Lake State Forest near Ocala.
As he enjoys retirement from the foundation board, Marwick has picked up a hobby that recently earned him a new world record — strict curl weightlifting.
On Nov. 21, in Ashland, Virginia, Marwick hefted 90.3 pounds in his weight and age division, which is 181 and over 80, in an event sanctioned by the 100% Raw Powerlifting Federation.
According to its website, 100% RAW Powerlifting Federation was established in 1999 to highlight powerlifters safely competing with no special support equipment and to become the premier drug-free powerlifting federation in the world.
According to fitnessvolt.com, “Strict curl weighlifting is a strength lift that measures biceps strength and upper body control. Athletes perform the lift by standing against a wall with their back and glutes in contact, curling a barbell from the extended position to the chest without using momentum or body sway. This lift is a popular part of powerlifting competitions and a great way to assess and build upper arm strength.”
“I had never planned on doing this but a friend talked me into it after he has been involved for a long time. He talked me into going to Tampa not long ago and I beat the world record there for my age and weight. And so, I was pretty surprised. And then the guy who had the record, he got challenged because the weights weren’t calibrated. I beat him by over 8 pounds. I decided, well heck, this one was in Ashland, Virginia, I’m just going to fly up there. It’s a big contest with hundreds of contestants from all over the world and see how I can do,” Marwick explained.
“I still beat him by about 8 pounds, a little over, up there. I was very fortunate that everything went smoothly for me,” he added.
He said the 100% Raw Power Lifting Federation “does this all over the world. People who came to this contest were from Japan, Azerbaijan, New Zealand. There was quite an interesting crowd,” he noted.
To earn his new world record, Marwick had to get through four strict curl lifts.
“The first time, I did it too fast and it didn’t count and the other guy did his and the second lift he couldn’t do his weight and I did mine and that gives you a third to try to up it and I did that and if you do the third and beat the world record, you get a fourth lift to try to set a new record. I just chose to be conservative and do 90.3 pounds. But it went so easy I’m sort of kicking myself that I didn’t do another 10 pounds,” Marwick noted.
“There are three judges, one on each side and one in front, and they are trained level three judges. The two on the sides look to see if you come off the board an 1/8th of an inch. If they can see light between that board and your back and your bottom, it doesn’t count. And your knees have to be straight. You have to follow the front judge’s orders. You pick up the weight and he’ll say, ‘Curl’ and you do it, the full curl, and then he’ll say ‘down’ and you can rack it,” he further explained.
“It’s a little nerve racking. But it was fun. If I can do it, it makes me think that a lot of elderly people who have not been going to the gym really should get out and move. It really helps keep you going,” Marwick said.
“I think there is a contest coming up in Greece in a month or two, so somebody in Greece will look at that record that I did and could try to beat it. They can beat it anyplace in the world. That guy had it for a while and now I’ve got it and someday somebody will beat it but I’m actually thinking about maybe doing one more sanctioned contest in Florida, with certified weights and level three judges so I can up it another five or 10 pounds because it went pretty smoothly and I think I could do more,” he added.
“It was a real surprise for me and I’m glad I went and did it. You are never too old. Sometimes you feel it, but I’m glad I did it so I might do it one more time. You need to keep moving. Whatever your body allows you to do,” he said. “Any maybe I had a little residual from college. I was good at weightlifting when I was young.”
Here are the current record holders, rawpowerlifting.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/World-Mens-Curl-Records.pdf
Watch Marwick in action in this video clip:
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