For episode 2 of World’s Ultimate Strongman’s (WUS) “Feats of Strength” series, Trey Mitchell III will attempt to break the deadlift for reps world record — 400kg/882lb for as may reps as possible in 75 seconds. That record was steady at 5 reps and held by several strongmen including Rauno Heinla of Estonia, Konstantine Janashia of Georgia, and J.F. Caron of Canada.
The 6th rep was so elusive that in season 1, four elite strongmen were unable to achieve it — Heinla matched the world record; Caron, Adam Bishop of Britain, and Jerry Pritchett of the United States managed 4 reps each. That all changed when Heinla squared off against Janashia in a deadlift showdown in the “Feats of Strength” season 2 premiere. Something went awry for Janashia, who had to call it quits after just 2 reps, but Heinla showed up in force and set a new deadlift for reps world record of 6 reps.
This changed the game for Mitchell. Before, his training was targeted toward being the first to ever strongman to hit 6 reps in a competitive setting (Heinla had previously performed 6 reps in training). With only so much time left prepare, that focus needs to shift towards being the second man to ever hit 6 reps and hopefully the first to ever hit 7.
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[Related: Hafthor Bjornsson performs the heaviest deadlift ever]
At 26 years of age, Mitchell is early in his strongman career, but has some notable accolades to his name. The 6’4, 340lb Texan was the 2018 America’s Strongest Man champion and finished 8th in his World’s Strongest Man (WSM) finals debut in 2019. On his way to securing that finals qualification, he had a memorable showdown in the Last Man Standing event against Oleksii Novakov — the two strongman went back and forth lifting an Atlas Stone over a Yoke until one man could no longer lift the stone. Mitchell and Novakov performed a jaw dropping 14 and 13 reps, respectively.
We have seen Trey Mitchell perform some impressive deadlifts in the past, but no one has ever pulled 400kg/882lb 7 times. Unlike all the other strongmen before him in both “Feats of Strength” seasons who competed against other competitors, Mitchell will be the only athlete featured in episode 2. All eyes will be on him to see if he can capture the first strongman world record of his career.
Featured image from World’s Ultimate Strongman’s Instagram page: @worldsultimatestrongman
