While Hafthor Bjornsson was training to defend his Arnold Strongman Classic title earlier this year, he had announced that he had set another goal: break Eddie Hall’s world record of 500 kg in the strongman version of the deadlift. Bjornsson did win the 2020 Arnold title but due to the COVID-19 epidemic, his scheduled attempt to break the record at the World’s Ultimate Strongman Bahrain event on April 11 was postponed.
There is no word officially on when the contest itself will take place, but Bjornsson officially announced on Instagram that there is a new date in which he will attempt to pull 501 kg (1,104 pounds) and it is on May 2nd in Iceland.
“501kg is coming!! I’m super excited for this opportunity! Unfortunately due to the circumstances regarding Covid19 and the world wide actions being taken to prevent the spread, I will have to attempt this in Iceland and alone besides a small team of under 20 people. I’m excited to announce that in partnership with @worldsultimatestrongman we will be doing this live for you guys at home!! Check out the link in my bio if you want to tune in on May 2nd!”
The event will be streamed for fans to watch on CoreSports. While the circumstances around the attempt will be different than he would prefer, he does go on to state that the attempt itself will be held to as high of standards as possible so the lift will count as official should he be successful. He will use a suit, a deadlift bar, and straps which is what makes this version different than in powerlifting where straps are not allowed.
“This will be recognized as a world record as there will be an official/judge there to make the call, and the event will be held to the same high standard that competitions are. I will be making the attempt with a suit, figure 8 straps and a deadlift bar.”
Hall set the elusive milestone mark himself in July 2016. Up until that point no one had been able to break the 500 kg mark. Hall’s own personal record before that point was 465 kg (1,023 pounds) was then a new world record which he had set earlier that day.
Bjornsson has been making progress on the deadlift in recent months. Most notably, he pulled 480 kg (1,058 pounds) in a recent training session. In that session, he did not wear a suit like he says he will with his world record attempt.
Featured Image: Instagram/thorbjornsson