John Devaney and Ted Devaney
Staff Writers
On May 2, the heaviest weight lifted from the ground ever belonged to a new person. Thor Bjornsson of Iceland, nicknamed The Mountain on the show Game of Thrones, pulled 501kg (1,104 pounds) from the ground to his waist.
The event was broadcasted live on ESPN in Thor’s personal gym. The crew was sure to maintain social distancing guidelines and had the maximum number of people in the room, including Thor, his wife Kelsey Henson, his coach, his friends, and an ESPN crew.
The previous world record was set by Eddie Hall in 2016 at 500kg. Only a handful of people have ever deadlifted over 1,000 pounds and only two in history have deadlifted at least 1,100 pounds, Eddie and Thor.
The day Thor pulled 501kg, the bar went up much faster than when Eddie Hall pulled 500kg. Many lifters thought he had much more left in him, but Thor opted out of a second lift because he felt content and did not want to risk injury.
After the lift, Thor called out Eddie Hall for a boxing match. Both were offered a big contract by Core Sports and Thor made sure Eddie knew he had signed it.
“Eddie Hall has been running his mouth for two weeks now and I know that he got the same deal. So Eddie, I just knocked out your record, and now I’m ready to knock you out in the ring. Time to put your fists where your big mouth is and sign the Core Sports contract. I’m ready. Are you ready, Eddie?”
The fight is planned to take place in September of 2021. Both have signed the contract and it will be interesting to see the two strongest men in the world step into the ring.
