Strength sports history was made at the 2023 Ultimate Strongman’s UK’s Strongest Man and Woman contest in Nottingham, England, on the weekend of May 27-29. Paul Smith won the strongman contest, and Rebecca Roberts defended her crown in the strongwoman competition.
However, Smith and Roberts defending their titles wasn’t the only headline-worthy event in Nottingham. Strongwoman athletes Izzy Tait and Sam Taylor completed a 454-kilogram (1,000-pound) tandem deadlift, an official Guinness World Record. Check it out below, courtesy of Cerberus Strength’s Instagram page:
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From the perspective of the athletes, Taylor was on the left, and Tait was on the right. Both women approached the Kratos Bar and took hold of it with the support of lifting straps. They coordinated their timing and pulled.
The ascent was slow but steady, and they locked the weight out together with the approval of the crowd in attendance. As fireworks went off behind them, they returned the barbell to the floor and celebrated their achievement. Tait recognized the accomplishment on their Instagram page:
Don’t mind us, just [Sam Taylor] and myself over here setting the official Guinness World Record tandem deadlift of 454 kilograms using the epic Cerberus Strength’s Kratos bar.
Taylor shared an image of the award in a separate post:
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There is no confirmation on if this is the inaugural lift that set the record or if other athletes held it before Tait and Taylor claimed it. The tandem deadlift was a separate event from the overall UK”s Strongest Woman competition, which Tait also competed in.
One of the events was a max deadlift. Tait pulled 260 kilograms (573.3 pounds) to finish in third place. She finished fifth overall out of eight athletes. As mentioned, Roberts took gold, with Lucy Underdown and Katie Smith in second and third, respectively. Taylor did not compete in the UK’s Strongest Woman contest.
Neither Tait nor Taylor has confirmed what their next strongwoman contests will be or if they eventually plan on trying to add to their record before others attempt to beat it. Based on how their lift looked, they could go heavier in the future.
Featured image: @cerebus_strength on Instagram
