Fresh off of his world record performance at the 2022 USPA Raw Pro, 110-kilogram powerlifter Jamal Browner pulled off an even more impressive feat. On Sept. 29, 2022, Browner deadlifted 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) in training with lifting straps, becoming the fourth known athlete to pull a half-ton on camera.
The incredible lift can be seen in the Instagram reel below:
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The location of the gym Browner was training in wasn’t shared. He pulled the weight using lifting straps, wore his lever weightlifting belt, and took a sumo stance on the podium while listening to music on his headphones.
There were nine 25-kilogram Rogue weight plates on each side of the barbell with a 15-kilogram plate on the ends, and they were secured with basic lockjaw collars. The 20-kilogram barbell brings the grand total to 500 kilograms.
Browner Joins the 500-Kilogram Deadlift Club
This lift puts Browner in very rare company. The first man to pull 500 kilograms in any capacity was 2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Eddie Hall in 2016, who set the strongman World Record at the World Deadlift Championships in Leeds England.
In May 2020, Icelandic strongman, and winner of the 2018 WSM, Hafthor Bjornsson pulled 501 kilograms at his gym in Reykjavik, Iceland. The lift was televised in the United States by ESPN, and streamed worldwide on CoreSports.world and Rogue Fitness’ YouTube channel. Four-time WSM winner Magnus Ver Magnusson was the official judge. However, some people in the strongman community consider that Eddie’s deadlift, which was set at an official competition, to be the official record.
Powerlifter Krzysztof Wierzbicki then made history in April of 2022 by pulling 502.5 kilograms (1,108 pounds) during a training session, making him the first powerlifter to break 500 kilograms, and also putting him ahead of both former World’s Strongest Man champions. Wierzbicki became the first man to pull that kind of weight without a suit, but he used straps, and it wasn’t in competition. So, it isn’t an official lift.
Browner’s feat makes him the fourth man to bring half a ton from the floor to a standing position in a traditional deadlift, and he’s the second to do it sans a suit. Since his was also with straps and performed in training, it wouldn’t count as an official lift in a sanctioned meet, but he is still on a single hand count list of men to pull off one of strength sports’ greatest challenges.
The next challenge to be answered is who can pull the weight without lifting straps in a competition. The men that have a shot at it are Browner and Danny Grigsby, who is the closest as of this writing with a pull of 487.5 kilograms (1,074.5 pounds), which he completed at the 2022 American Pro.
Featured Image: @jamal_b15 on Instagram
