Icelandic professional strongman Hafthor Bjornsson has been putting on quite a show at the 2018 Arnold Strongman Classic. His weekend started with a strong performance on Friday in the first Bag Over Bar event when he took first with his 95-lb sandbag toss, and then he sat middle of the pack in the second event with one successful stone shoulder lift.
After four events, Bjornsson sits in the lead with 36 points, closely followed by USA’s Brian Shaw with 32.5, and then Russia’s Mikhail Shivlyakov with 29.
Today, Bjornsson made history and broke the Elephant Bar deadlift world record with his successful 472kg (1,041 lb) third attempt. He made the pull with relative ease, and looked like he might have had more in the tank. Check out the epic deadlift video below filmed by Massenomics Instagram page.
Bjornsson has been on a mission to improve his numbers this year, and with this deadlift he’s continued to build upon his mission. Back in September 2017, Bjornsson poked at attempting the deadlift world record for 2018, and with this lift he’s closer to that number than ever.
The previous Elephant Bar deadlift world record was held by Jerry Pritchett at 467kg (1,031 lb), which he set last year at the Arnold Strongman Classic. This year Pritchett walked away with a 469kg (1,036 lb) deadlift and a fourth place finish, even after injuring his bicep on his second attempt. On his Instagram video Pritchett writes,
“Here’s my second attempt on deadlift at 981lbs. My left bicep popped midway through the pull, not sure how bad yet. Defiantly hasn’t been my weekend. Needless to say this didn’t set it up well for the record attempt at 1036lb, hat’s off to Thor on breaking the record!”
Shaw finished with a 460kg (1,016 lb) deadlift for his second attempt and had the final attempt for the competition. After watching Bjornsson hit the new world record, he called for 474kg (1,046 lb) on the bar to edge him out, but unfortunately fell short and was unable to record a good lift.
Current third place athlete Shivlyakov finished with a 426kg (937 lb) deadlift, which earned him fifth in this event. His final attempt left him bloodied as he grinded through the lift. Check it out below.
Only one event remains for the 2018 Arnold Strongman Classic. Can Bjornsson hold off defending champion Brian Shaw and the rest of competitors? We’ll know soon enough!
Related: Romanian Deadlift Guide
Feature image screenshot from @massenomics Instagram page.
