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Home » Strongman News » Iron Biby Breaks Axle Press World Record with 217kg Lift

Iron Biby Breaks Axle Press World Record with 217kg Lift

The Burkinese strongman performed the feat at the Strongman Classic.

Written by Roger Lockridge
Last updated on July 25th, 2023

Cheick Al-Hassan Sanou, better known in the strongman community as “Iron Biby,” made strongman history on July 24th at the 2021 Strongman Classic. Fans in attendance at Royal Albert Hall in London, England saw Sanou break Eddie Hall’s world record in the Axle Press by successfully lifting 217 kilograms (478.4 pounds) over his head to a full lockout. The feat can be seen in the video published on the Official Stongman YouTube channel starting at the 36 second mark.

https://youtu.be/-nVYEgyCUZE?t=37

Sanou used an overhand/underhand grip when he took the bar from the floor to his stomach. He had to lean back significantly to get it up to his shoulders into the clean position. Once he had his arms locked out with the bar over his head, the judge gave the down command. He almost lost his balance while dropping the weight to the floor. He then immediately celebrated his new world record.

This is the second straight time that the world record has been broken by a single kilogram. Hall’s lift of 216 kilograms was accomplished during the 2017 Europe’s Strongest Man contest. At that time, he had broken the record of 215 kilograms that was set by Zydrunas Savickas in 2011. Sanou shared his thoughts in an Instagram post after the event had concluded. Part of his statement is below.

“WHAT A SPECIAL NIGHT ✨Was an honor to compete at ROYAL ALBERT HALL . It’s an iconic arena and the right place for me to break the axle world record owned by the beast @eddiehallwsm . He is a great man and he inspired me to do it . God bless him🙏🏾
Will never forget this day.”

Hall took a moment to share his congratulations to Sanou for his accomplishment. The statement included reinforcement of his opinion that world records should be broken in competitions.

“Well done to @ironbiby for breaking my world record axle press last night at 217kg 🏆,” Hall wrote. “I’ve seen him do 230kg in training at his home gym, but this is where it counts.”

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by KING Iron Biby 👑 (@ironbiby)

Hall’s most famous world record was his 500 kilogram deadlift, which he accomplished at the 2016 World Deadlift Championships. That record stood until Hafthor Bjornsson pulled 501 kilograms in the premiere episode of World’s Ultimate Strongman’s “Feats of Strength” series. Hall maintains his position that his lift should be counted as the official record until someone breaks it in a contest.

As for Sanou, he went on to finish third overall at the Giants Live event where he set the record. 2020 World’s Strongest Man Oleksii Novikov took the overall victory with Evan Singleton taking the silver spot.

Featured Image: @ironbiby on Instagram

About Roger Lockridge

Roger "Rock" Lockridge has been writing professionally for 10 years and has been training for 20. His work in the fitness industry has been seen in numerous outlets and has been a part of coverage for several events including the Mr. Olympia, Arnold Classic, the CrossFit Games, and the Olympics. He's also shared his own personal success story in several interviews and articles. Lockridge lives in West Virginia with his wife and son.

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