For the second time on the Feats of Strength series, Russian strongman Mikhail Shivlyakov attempted to break the Masters world record in the deadlift. He had previously failed in setting the mark when he competed head-to-head against Terry Hollands in season 1 of the Feats of Strength series back in June. The second time around had better fortunes for him, and he is now the official world record holder with a weight of 436 kg (962 pounds). The lift can be seen below.
The attempt was a part of a double header of deadlift world record attempts in season two of the World’s Ultimate Strongman online series. It was livestreamed on the Rogue Fitness YouTube channel and on CoreSports. Mark Boyd and Laurence Shahlaei were joined on commentary by current world record holder in the deadlift, Hafthor Bjornsson.
Going into the event, Shivlyakov had said that he had his eyes on this record for a long time, and it would be very meaningful for him to claim it. He performed his lifts from his home gym in his native country of Russia.
The Russian Special Forces soldier opened with a lift of 410 kg (904 pounds) and completed it rather easily. This was the only warm-up that was shown on camera. Like his famous deadlift at the Arnold Sports Festival in 2019, his nose started bleeding upon completion of the lift.
Zydrunas Savickas served as the official and judge for this attempt, like he did for the 502kg world record attempt that took place on the same livestream. After the weight was verified at 436 kg, Shilyakov began his attempt, struggled for well over 10 seconds and could be seen violently shaking once the bar passed his knees, but was able to complete the lockout and take the record as his own. As with the first attempt, he suffered a massive nose bleed while performing the lift. Handlers and supporters were on hand to help him once the bar returned to the floor.
After several minutes to recover from the attempt, he expressed his satisfaction in the post-lift interview.
“This preparation was a little bit harder for me than the previous one, but the thornier the path, the sweeter the taste of victory.”
He said that his sights are now set on the 2020 World’s Strongest Man contest this coming November.
Featured Image: Instagram/mikhail_shivlyakov
