When it comes to strongman competition in the under-105-kilogram (U105KG) weight class, Nicolas Cambi seems like a safe bet to win any contest he enters. On Oct. 1, 2022, at the 2022 America’s Strongest Man (ASM) U105KG, Cambi stood atop the podium, setting a new Max Giant Dumbbell world record of 129.3 kilograms (285 pounds).
Cambi shared a video of his world record lift on his Instagram page the day after the competition, which can be seen below. According to the Strongman Corporation records page, Cambi eclipsed the previous world record by a whopping 75 pounds. Cole Booth held the prior record of 95.3 kilograms (210 pounds) scored at the 2018 TX Record Breakers.
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In the video of his world record lift, Cambi did not appear to have issues cleaning the 285-pound dumbbell to his right shoulder. He leveraged this lifting belt as a pseudo checkpoint for the dumbbell to readjust and utilize additional leg drive. The “belt clean” effectively broke the lift into two parts — cleaning to his belt and then cleaning from his belt to his shoulder — a legal maneuver in competitive strongman contests, similar to an axle clean & press event.
Belt clean for the win!
Once the Giant Dumbbell was securely in the rack position, Cambi appeared to nearly make an attempt but quickly opted out to readjust the dumbbell on his shoulder. That first move is as close to a pump-fake as you’ll likely ever see without the athlete dropping the weight. Cambi maintained control of the dumbbell and set up to press it again.
Once he locked his elbow out with the dumbbell overhead, Cambi had a slight lean in his torso so he could get under the weight and press it out. The moment he stood with the weight overhead, he received the down signal from the judge to secure the world record. Blink and you’ll miss the lockout as the weight stabilization lasts for less than a second — a testament to how heavy the implement was.
Cambi secured first place overall, winning the contest for the second year in a row. The Giant Dumbbell is another world added to his resume, which includes the Block Press and the Log Lift.
Featured image: @cambidude on Instagram
