The 2017 Europe’s Strongest Man competition has come and gone, but the newly set axle press world record by Eddie Hall will continue to stand. This year’s Europe’s Strongest Man was a nail biter until the very final event where Hafthor Bjornsson and Eddie Hall faced off with the Atlas Stones.
Bjornsson ended up beating Hall, which earned him first for the event and a final score of 63 points. Hall finished second, closely behind Bjornsson with 61 points. Hall and Bjornsson both tied with three event first place finishes on the day.
Besides the final deciding events, possibly the most thrilling event of the competition was the axle press where Hall set a new world record. Hall pressed 216kg, which edged out Zydrunas Savickas’s 215kg record that he set in 2011.
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If you recall, last year Hall made history with his 500kg world record deadlift at this very same spot, which the announcer points out in the video. Once the axle made it to Hall’s rack pressing position, the lift looked incredibly smooth.
Bjornsson finished in second place with a 206kg press and Matjaz Belsak claimed third with 200kg. Third place finisher Belsak actually skipped the 206kg press in competition to make an attempt at the world record 216kg press, but fell short.
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Hall now has some of the strongest back and shoulders in the sport of strongman.
A month ago, Hall shared a video on his Instagram page featuring an easy 190kg axle press. In the description Hall wrote, “190kg Axle Press for a single just working on techniques as the power isn’t the problem. What you reckon is there 220kg? 230kg?”
It’s safe to say power was definitely not the problem for Hall. He has arguably some of the most impressive static strength and power in all of strength sports. Hopefully we get to see him crush more records with his ridiculous static strength as the year progresses.
Every strongman competition Hall competes in, it seems like he continues to set new records. It’s going to be interesting to see what Hall will do at this year’s World’s Strongest Man competition.
Feature image from @bigredstrong Instagram page.
