We thought it couldn’t be done, Brian Shaw thought it couldn’t be done, but now, Englishman Eddie Hall has proved us all wrong by becoming the first man to deadlift 500kg (1,102.3 pounds).
Lifting at the World Deadlift Championships in Leeds, England, Hall pulled the half-ton weight quickly off the ground and fought hard at the top for a good lift. Competitors in Leeds were lifting strongman style, and in addition to the normally permitted straps and hitching, deadlift suits were allowed.
See Hall’s history-making lift below, video from his Instagram account. The effort took everything out of him, and a spent Hall — bleeding from his nose — had to be helped up from the ground after the lift, his arms still attached to the bar via figure-8 straps.
(Check out our rundown of the best lifting straps for deadlifts — including the ones Eddie Hall used.]
Looks like we’ll need to update our Deadlift Records infographic in short order…
Hall’s accompanying caption? “Well here it is…. The impossible 500kg!” Seems fitting for the gargantuan lift.
Shaw had criticized the competition format, which took the bar straight from 465kg to 500kg, as he said he believed that was too big a jump (which contributed to his withdrawal from the competition to focus on August’s World’s Strongest Man competition).
Competitors Jerry Pritchett (USA) and Benedikt Magnusson (Iceland) each pulled 465kg in the competition. Magnusson attempted 500kg but failed around mid-shin on the lift.
Hall’s official Facebook account posted the same video with a longer ending, which shows his support team rushing in to congratulate the athlete. Eventually, support staff brought out a fan to help cool down an exhausted Hall before he made it back to his feet.
Though the competition’s format and equipment standards didn’t come without controversy leading up to today, Hall’s achievement is truly a landmark feat for the sport of strongman.
