The 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC) has gotten much spicier. On Jan. 10, 2025, Rogue Fitness announced a $101,000 bounty to any strongman who can deadlift 501 or more kilograms during the Elephant Bar Deadlift event. That means should any competitors match or exceed the heaviest deadlift ever pulled, they will be awarded a six-figure prize purse separate from the ASC prize pool.
“Bounty remains. $101K to any athlete who pulls 501 kilograms or more during the Elephant Bar Deadlift at the Arnold Strongman Classic,” Rogue Fitness’ Instagram caption read.
The challenge was quickly accepted by the only athlete ever to pull such a monstrous weight: three-time ASC champion Hafthor Björnsson.
[Related: Mitchell Hooper Issues Deadlift Challenge to Hafthor Bjornsson]
Only two athletes in history have successfully entered the 500-kilogram deadlift club. 2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Eddie Hall was the first human to achieve the 500-kilogram threshold at the 2016 World Deadlift Championships (WDC). Four years later, in May 2020, Björnsson chipped an additional kilogram onto that record during the World’s Ultimate Strongman (WUS) “Feats of Strength” Series during the global COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Notably, Björnsson currently holds the Elephant Bar Deadlift world record at 472 kilograms.
Reigning two-time ASC champion Mitchell Hooper has expressed his intent to contend for the all-time deadlift world record, as has three-time reigning WSM champion Tom Stoltman, who will compete alongside Björnsson in Columbus, OH, from Feb. 28 through March 2, 2025.
The 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic Roster
Below are the athletes who have the opportunity to make history and score $101,000 in the process:
- Mitchell Hooper — Two-Time Reigning ASC Champion
- Hafthor Björnsson — 2018 WSM champion
- Austin Andrade
- Bobby Thompson
- Evan Singleton — 2024 WSM Bronze Medalist
- Lucas Hatton
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 2024 Magnus Ver Magnusson Strongman Classic Champion
- Maxime Boudreault
- Nick Guardione — 2024 Official Strongman Games Men’s Open Champion
- Tom Stoltman — Three-Time Reigning World’s Strongest Man
- Trey Mitchell — Two-Time Shaw Classic Champion
In 2024, it appeared that Björnsson had enough in the tank to potentially exceed his current Elephant Bar Deadlift world record. However, he declined to make that attempt as he had already secured the event win with a top pull of 460 kilograms and wanted to conserve energy for the remainder of the competition.
Similarly, Hooper had strategized securing a second-place finish to Björnsson in the deadlift event on the premise that he could outperform Björnsson in the other events — a prediction that came to fruition.
With a six-figure incentive to enter the 500-kilogram club, the competing strongman are unlikely to pass up their attempts at history. We’ll see how far they can push the all-time Elephant Bar Deadlift world record when they converge on Columbus.
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Featured image: @roguefitness on Instagram
