The 2021 Britain’s Strongest Man Under-80 Kilograms (u80kg) contest took place on June 12, and, notably, Daniel Ashcroft set a new monster dumbbell world record. On the final day phase of the one-day event, Ashcroft stepped up to a 96.2-kilogram (212.1-pound) monster dumbbell, lapped it, racked it, and pressed it overhead.
The event aimed to establish a max dumbbell rep. According to his Instagram page, Ashcroft admitted to being the favorite to win that particular event, and he did not disappoint. Check out the video below of Ashcroft’s new world record:
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Monster Dumbbell World Record
For context as to just how heavy this lift was, the two-time World’s Strongest Man runner-up Mateusz Kieliszkowski currently holds the Cyr dumbbell world record — which is functionally the same event with a differently shaped dumbbell — with a lift of 145 kilograms (320 pounds) set at the 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic. That means that Kieliszkowski lifted a world record dumbbell that weighed approximately 10 pounds less than his body weight. Conversely, Ashcroft’s world record lift was 16 kilograms (35 pounds) more than his body weight.
Per Official Strongman’s Instagram post highlighting Ashcroft’s record lift, the strongman went into the event intending to lift a 100-kilogram (220-pound) dumbbell. Hosting 20 kilograms more than your bodyweight overhead with one arm seems like a lot, maybe too much, but “Flash” has actually lifted more than his own record. Check out the video of the lift below posted on Dec. 4, 2020, wherein Ashcroft successfully presses a 102-kilogram (224.9-pound) dumbbell:
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[Related: Tom Stoltman Wins 2021 World’s Strongest Man]
2021 Britain’s Strongest Man U80KG
Here were the events that Ashcroft competed in across the two-day event, which was held at Kaos Strength Gym in Preston, UK:
Day One
- Max Deadlift — Three attempts to lift the heaviest weight possible.
- Yoke/Sandbag Medley — 15 meters with yoke, then 15 meters back down with sandbag.
- Axle/Log Overhead — 1 rep with axle, 1 rep with log back and forth for max reps in 75 seconds.
- Frame Carry — 15 meters
Day Two
The top eight competitors from day one move on to day two, aka the Final.
- Max Monster Dumbbell
- Sandbag Throw — Athletes throw a 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, and 20-kilogram bag over a four-meter bar for time.
- Car Deadlift Hold
- Atlas Stones — Athletes load a 90, 110, 130, 150-kilogram stone to 52-inches and then a 60-kilogram stone to a 44-inch platform.
Ashcroft won the Yoke/Sandbag Medley and the Max Monster Dumbbell events. He ultimately finished in fourth place overall. However, this is still an impressive ranking as he was competing for the first time since recovering from a glute and hamstring injury.
I completed my first training session of 2021 on the 23rd March.
That’s not a bad showing when you consider Ashcroft trained two months after taking three months off to recover. Ashcroft intends to up his training for the Official Strongman Games set for Nov. 12-14, 2021, at the Ocean Center Arena in Daytona Beach, FL. We will get to see the kind of training Ashcroft focuses on as he stated he “will document more training now.”
Feature image: @flashdan87 on Instagram
