The race to beat 2018 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Hafthor Björnsson‘s all-time heaviest ever deadlift of 501 kilograms (1,104.5 pounds) just got hotter. Pavlo Nakonechnyy of Ukraine recently took to his Instagram page to share a video wherein he deadlifts 475 kilograms (1,047.2 pounds) at 24 years of age.
Nakonechnyy’s deadlift was so smooth that it’d be criminal not to seriously consider him in the conversation for a potential all-time deadlift world record. Check it out below:
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[Related: The Heaviest Deadlifts Ever Pulled]
Nakonechnyy is no stranger to scoring a world record. Back in 2017, he set a Junior raw deadlift world record of 355.5 kilograms (783.7 pounds) at a bodyweight of 157.6 kilograms (347.4 pounds) at the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Classic Powerlifting Championships, which he won. That record has since been shattered multiple times over, but Nakonechnyy’s deadlift has also significantly improved to contend with the likes of strongmen Ivan Makarov, Gabriel Peña, and Peiman Maheripourehir.
Nakonechnyy’s 475-kilogram (1,047.2-pound) deadlift was performed in a lifting suit with lifting straps and a belt. He didn’t wear knee sleeves. That is the same setup that Björnsson used for his all-time heaviest deadlift performed on the World’s Ultimate Strongman (WUS) “Feats of Strength” series.
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[Related: Strongman Brian Shaw Analyzes His 2021 World’s Strongest Man Performance]
Nakonechnyy’s Powerlifting Career
Like many strongmen before him, Nakonechnyy first began lifting heavy barbells as a powerlifter. He still holds the second heaviest ever total in the superheavyweight class in the Junior division (up to 23 years old) with the following stats from the 2019 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) World Championships, where he won gold:
- Squat — 410 kilograms (903.9 pounds) — competition personal best
- Bench Press — 270 kilograms (595.3 pounds)
- Deadlift — 390 kilograms (859.8 pounds) — competition personal best
- Total — 1,070 kilograms (2,359 pounds) — second heaviest all-time Junior total
According to Open Powerlifting, since winning gold at his competitive powerlifting debut at the 2014 Global Powerlifting Federation (GPF) World Championships at age 16, Nakonechnyy has appeared in nine sanctioned powerlifting meets. Of those nine, he won five and finished as the runner-up in three. The only time he missed the podium was a sixth-place finish at the 2017 United Powerlifting Congress (UPC) Ukrainian Championships.
For context, despite the differences of an equipped lift versus a raw lift (athletes can lift more equipped than raw), Nakonechnyy’s recent 475-kilogram (1,047.2-pound) deadlift is 85 kilograms (187.4 pounds) more than his competition best lift.
Although he is 27 kilograms (59.5 pounds) shy of beating Björnsson’s heaviest ever deadlift, Nakonechnyy has not stated if or when he intends to attempt a world record. The one thing that does seem certain is Nakonechnyy’s future career as a strongman seems bright.
Feature image: @pavlo_nakonechnyy on Instagram
