The latest edition of World’s Ultimate Strongman (WUS) “Feats of Strength” series featured a familiar face, Andrea Thompson. Going into this weekend, her hope was that she would claim her third world record of 2020 as well as her second in a variation of the deadlift. She would finish the day having achieved her goal, having set the new strongwoman world record at 639 pounds (290 kg).
The strongwoman world record for the deadlift going into today was 605 pounds (275 kg) by Melissa Edwards. Thompson wasted no time going for that record either. Her opening lift was 616 pounds (280 kg) and she completed it easily. With the record now in her possession, the only question was how high it would be set.
Andrea Thompson’s Deadlift Record
Her second attempt was the 290 kg lift which was also a success. This made the second time this year that she set a world record twice in the same day. That would ultimately be where the record stands for now. Thompson did attempt 661 pounds (300 kg) twice, but was unable to complete those attempts.
Strongman competitor and coach Laurence Shahlaei was on commentary and served as Thompson’s coach. He noted that she was completing her lifts without a deadlift suit, which offers support and creates tension in the hips. She only wore a belt and used lifting straps for her grip. He also mentioned that Thompson had never touched 290 kg before she completed that attempt.
As with the past episodes in this series, Zadrunas Savickas served as the judge and official. The plates, collars, and bar were weighed and verified by Savickas before she could begin her attempts. The event had been broadcast on CoreSports, ESPN2, and the Rogue Fitness YouTube channel.
Thompson expressed both disappointment and appreciation in her post-lift interview.
“To be honest, I’m actually kind of disappointed that I didn’t get the 300 because that was the goal. I will be happy eventually with the 290 that I did get.”
Earlier this year, Thompson set the mark on the Elephant Bar Deadlift at the 2020 Arnold Pro Strongwoman contest with a pull of 621 pounds (282 kg). So the new deadlift record is actually 8 kg higher than the Elephant Bar version.
In season one of the Feats of Strength series, Thompson claimed her second world record of the year when she took the Log Press record with a lift of 297.7 pounds (135 kg). It’s worth noting that she actually set that record twice on that day as well. Today’s new mark for the strongwoman deadlift makes it three for the four-time Britain’s Strongest Woman winner.
The overall women’s deadlift record remains at 683 pounds (310 kg) which was set by American powerlifter Becca Swanson. As for Thompson, she mentioned that she has her sights set on the next Britain’s Strongest Woman contest.
The next edition of the Feats of Strength series will feature Luke Stoltman and Rob Kearney competing for the world record in the Log Press.
Featured Image: Instagram/andreathompson_strongwoman
