Mark Felix, competing in the 2020 Europe’s Strongest Man contest, has once again set a new world record for the Hercules Hold. Over the last few competitions, Felix and the Hercules Hold have become synonymous with each other. The association is similar to Tom Stoltman with the Atlas Stones or Hafthor Bjornsson with the deadlift.
On September 5th, which is the first day of the contest, Felix took to the podium and proceeded to hold the handles attached to the 160 kg (352 pound) pillars for 1 minute, 32 seconds. This is the third time he has set the record. The first time, at the age of 52, was 1 minute, 22 seconds, which was set at the 2019 Europe’s Strongest Man event. At age 53, he went on to add five seconds to that time in Manchester, England at another Giants Live event. He had turned another year older since then. Felix turned 54 on April 17.
There was no audience in attendance at the event, but Official Strongman shared a video of the man from Grenada setting the new record on their YouTube channel.
The Hercules Hold is a strongman event that goes back to the early days of the sport. The athlete standing in between two heavy objects (usually pillars), takes the handles. When the go signal is given, the support of those weights are released. At this point, the athlete is the only resistance keeping the objects from falling to the ground. The goal is to hold onto the handles for as long as possible until you can no longer do so. It’s a test of the grip, arms, chest, and shoulders.
Felix is a specialist when it comes to grip contests. While he had yet to win any of the major contests, his prowess in grip events are often what keep him in contention. He also fares very well when grip is the specialty of a contest. In 2008, he won the Rolling Thunder World Championship. In 2011 and 2012, he also was victorious at the Vice Grip Viking Challenge. He also holds the world record for the Dinnie Stones hold. He set a time of 31.4 seconds at the 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic.
Featured Image: Instagram/markfelixwsm