Elijah Miller is already a North American champion. Now, the Waynesboro Area Senior High School sophomore is a World champion.
Miller, the son of Joseph and Mercedes Miller of Rouzerville, reaped the fruits of victory at the International Powerlifting League Tested World Powerlifting Championships in Las Vegas Nov. 14-18. Miller, the owner of multiple Pennsylvania state records, competed in the 75-kilogram (165 pounds) weight class. Miller vied for the medals with nearly a dozen other powerlifters.
The competition was held at the Golden Nugget. Miller said 500 weightlifters competed for the laurels in their respective weight classes and age divisions.
Competitors were given three attempts in three events (squat, bench, and deadlift). Miller, who first learned that he would be participating in the worlds in December 2023, faced off against the competition and his own nerves when he squatted 197.5 kg (435.4 pounds).
“I’ve underperformed when it came to squatting my past two meets, so I went a little heavier in my first attempt,” he said. “The first squat is where lots of lifters sometimes fall because of all the nerves and adrenaline hit sometimes. So, after I smashed it, I was ready to rock and roll. I hit my second attempt of 212.5 kg (468.5 pounds), an all-time gym PR for me and a competition PR. I knew the world record for my age and weight class was 490 pounds. I felt good and decided to surprise some people and load up a world record of 225 kg (496 pounds).”
While Miller probably couldn’t have imagined a better start to his day, it came with a price.
“The only problem was that my arm was killing me from tendinitis, and it would bite me in the back on bench and deadlifts,” Miller explained. “I only hit my first bench attempt, 107.5 kg (237 pounds). I was disappointed because it was not even a meet PR, but my wrist and arm just got the best of me.”
Miller maxed out at 117.5 kg (259 pounds) on the bench. He wasn’t happy with his deadlift performance, saying he wanted to lift more than 600 pounds.
“I hit my opener at 255 kg (562.2 pounds), which was a meet PR but not a gym PR,” said Miller, who was undoubtedly doing the math and crunching the numbers that would give him the championship. “I failed my second and third attempts. This was a very difficult thing to go through because my deadlifts are relatively my best lifts.
“So to only hit my opener on deadlifts and bench – I did not hit the total that I was going for, and I thought I had lost out on winning. I competed in the Juniors Division, which consisted of 15-19-year-olds. I did not think I would win, but I stuck around for the ceremony. They called the Juniors third place, then second place. And I blacked out when I heard my name for first place.”
Miller described the title as a “dream come true.” What made it even more satisfying was that friends back home in the Waynesboro area were watching the competition via livestream.
“From my parents to my brother, friends, teachers, and town, I could not ask for a better support group,” Miller said. “I hope I have helped people in some way to want to get better at something.”
Miller’s total came to 588.7 kg (1,295.2 pounds).
If injuries had turned out differently, Miller might not have made the trip to Las Vegas.
“The months of June and July were the most difficult as I was dealing with multiple injuries, including my groin, which I strained during baseball season, my hip, which I injured lifting, and then my wrist started to bother me quite a bit.
“I got checked out in July, and they told me to take a few weeks off because I developed tendinitis in my wrist. I took time off and then got back into the swing of things.”
He got the green light to step up his training but wasn’t content with his competition weight.
“My weight was not going up. I wanted to be up to 180. I did not want to compete at the bottom of the 82.5 kg weight class. So I decided to bulk up to 165 so I can be at the top of the 75 kg weight class,” Miller said. “I was scared for my wrist because it still bothered me. But I pushed through it during training because I needed to be prepared for this.”
What’s next for Miller?
“I want to try to reach my goal of 180 pounds to compete at,” he said. “For the time being, I have taken a break to try and fix my tendinitis. It has spread to my elbow and up my arm. I hope to compete this summer at Nationals. If I do well enough, I can get an invitation to the IPL Team USA for the 2025 World Championships. Apart from that, hitting more records, getting stronger physically and mentally.”
