The 2025 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest has been a compilation of roller-coaster storylines. From Luke Richardson and Evan Singleton sustaining injuries at the same spot in the contest’s opening event and having to withdraw, to Trey Mitchell locking out a 500-kilogram partial deadlift, to Eddie Williams setting a WSM record in the Hercules Hold, to WSM rookie Rayno Nel taking the contest by storm and claiming a nine-point lead on the overall leaderboard with only two events to go.
One day of competition remains, comprised of two events: the Flintstone Max Press and the Atlas Stones. BarBend is in Sacramento, CA, covering the contest live, and was given an exclusive from WSM promoter Colin Bryce.
Lucas Hatton will guest lift in the Flintstone Max Press event. Hatton aims to hold the heaviest weight ever held overhead: 276 kilograms.
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Bryce asked each of the 10 WSM Finalists if they took issue with Hatton’s guest lifting in the contest’s penultimate event. He received the roster’s unanimous blessing to allow the American strongman to chase the record books.
Hatton, a WSM rookie, was eliminated during the Qualifying Stage. He ranked third in group three behind Nel, the group’s winner, and Shane Flowers, the runner-up. Hatton’s results in the Flintstone Max Press will not affect the leaderboard.
I want to hold the heaviest weight of all time overhead.
—Lucas Hatton
It is unclear what the all-time heaviest weight pressed overhead is. For reference, the WSM record in the Flintstone Max Press is 2020 WSM champion Oleksii Novikov’s 246-kilogram press in 2022. While that is one of the heaviest ever secured in competition, it’s well off from the heaviest ever seen.
Bryce and Hatton mentioned a 275-kilogram press by American Olympian shot putter Joe Kovacs, though it was not captured on camera. Russian lifter Mikhail Koklyaev is on tape locking out a 275-kilogram behind-the-neck press in training that is believed to be the unofficial world record:
Hatton mentioned Iranian weightlifter Alireza Yousefi‘s 275-kilogram split-jerk overhead press from a front rack position in training as potentially the heaviest weight ever pressed overhead. It can be seen below:
Fellow strongman Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou has been filmed shoulder pressing 273 kilograms from a seated position, though he did not press it from the clavicle as the previous lifters did:
Hatton isn’t chasing the all-time world record without already being in the conversation. On May 5, 2025, Hatton published a training video wherein he locked out 272 kilograms overhead off blocks.
600 [pounds] overhead was a personal goal. I needed to know what it felt like in the hands.
—Lucas Hatton
“As far as I could find, fewer than 10 men have ever put 270 kilograms or more overhead,” Hatton wrote in the post’s caption. “Only two have done more than [272 kilograms].”
When Hatton was asked about his level of certainty that he could lock out 276 kilograms overhead, he responded with a mixture of confidence and humility, stating that he would “see how he feels” on the final day of the competition before deciding whether to call for the world record weight.
As the roller-coaster storylines continue to peak and valley, one thing is certain: between Nel’s overwhelming lead, Paddy Haynes being a single point away from the podium with two events to go, and Hatton holding an eraser and pencil with the record book open, the 2025 WSM has been a rookie showcase.
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Featured image courtesy of World’s Strongest Man/Rich Storry
