Powerlifter Sonita Muluh shattered world records in April 2025 with a 311 kg squat. Months later at the IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships in June, she attempted an even more ambitious lift—334.5 kg—when a spotter deliberately sabotaged her attempt. Now, Sonita Muluh is speaking out about the racially motivated interference that cost her a world title.
During powerlifting competition, spotters serve a critical safety function. They support the lifter, prevent injury, and help ensure lift validity. Ernestas Kusinas, a volunteer spotter at the competition in Druskininkai, Lithuania, had a different agenda. On Muluh’s third attempt to lift 334 kg, Kusinas deliberately touched the weights with his knee, causing the judges to disqualify her from attempting the lift again.
“I feel unsafe and uneasy that this person is standing beside me with massive weight, with what can go wrong, with the amount of weight on your back,” Muluh told the BBC. “I was lucky when I realized it hit his knee and I could stabilize it. Not everyone could. It was the heaviest ever squat for a female.”
What might have seemed like a spotter’s error was no accident. Kusinas later admitted his interference was deliberate on social media. “I am racist, and I did it intentionally because I hate you pieces of sh*t,” he wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post from a now-deleted account, according to the Athletic. When confronted by Reuters, Kusinas claimed he wrote the comment sarcastically, mocking someone who had accused him of racism online.
“I threw him the bone he wanted,” Kusinas told Reuters.
His defense crumbles under scrutiny. Kusinas has been accused of reposting Nazi logos on social media, and comments referencing “Heil Hitler” have resurfaced, according to the Athletic. This wasn’t a sarcastic moment. This was a pattern.
Lithuanian police confirmed a criminal investigation is underway focusing on his Instagram comment and his conduct at the championship. On August 3, a pre-trial investigation was initiated for alleged public expression of contempt or incitement to hatred and discrimination. The maximum penalty is two years in prison.
Muluh’s response shows remarkable restraint. She didn’t lash out at Kusinas in the moment and actively discouraged others from harassing him when video of the incident circulated. “I thought it was a human mistake, that cost me a lot on the day,” she said. “But there was no hatred from me. I didn’t curse at him. And then I find out five weeks later that he said this.”
The 29-year-old, who began competing in powerlifting in 2020, has directed her frustration toward the governing bodies that failed her. She believes the International Powerlifting Federation should implement background checks on all personnel with direct access to athletes. “If you are going to put my life in someone else’s hands, at least make sure that person is well equipped to be able to protect me or keep me from harm,” she said. “But they failed me through negligence and putting my life in danger.”
The Lithuanian Powerlifting Federation issued Kusinas a lifetime ban in July and issued a statement condemning racism and hateful conduct. But Muluh’s broader concern extends beyond one individual. “I hope the IPF does things differently—that they consider the safety of athletes more and especially minority people,” she said. “I feel that’s what has been missing. We have been made to compete in places we didn’t feel welcome. Some Black athletes are booed in competition. We have to worry about our skin color while competing.”
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