The question of who holds the deadlift world record seems like it should have a simple, one-sentence answer. It doesn’t. If you’re sitting at a bar or arguing in a gym locker room, the answer depends entirely on whether you care about "raw" power, strongman rules, or what happens in a guy’s garage versus a televised arena.
Right now, the heavy hitter is Hafthor Björnsson. In 2025, the "Mountain" from Game of Thrones effectively ended the long-standing debate over his 2020 home-gym lift by pulling 510kg (1,124 lbs) in a sanctioned setting at the Eisenhart Black Deadlift Championships. He didn't just break the record; he basically moved the goalposts for human potential.
The 500kg Barrier and the Hall-Thor War
To understand why that 510kg number is such a big deal, you have to look back at the absolute chaos of the mid-2010s. For a long time, the world of strength was obsessed with the 500-kilogram mark. It was the "four-minute mile" of the lifting world. People thought it might actually kill a human being to try it.
Eddie Hall proved them half-right in 2016. He pulled 500kg (1,102 lbs) at the World Deadlift Championships in Leeds. It was a terrifying moment. Hall collapsed immediately after, blood pouring from his nose and ears, and he later admitted he lost sight for a while. It was the peak of "equipped" strongman lifting—using a deadlift suit, figure-eight straps, and a standard barbell.
Then 2020 happened. With the world shut down, Björnsson pulled 501kg in his home gym in Iceland. Eddie Hall fans lost their minds. They argued it wasn't a "real" record because it wasn't in a traditional competition. The beef lasted years. But honestly? Thor’s 2025 lift of 510kg finally silenced the critics. It was clean, official, and undeniably the heaviest weight ever moved from the floor to a standing position by a human.
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Why the Deadlift World Record is Kinda Complicated
If you’re a powerlifting purist, you probably think the strongman records are "cheating." That’s because strongmen use specialized suits that act like giant rubber bands and straps that mean they don't even have to grip the bar.
Powerlifting vs. Strongman
In powerlifting, the rules are much stricter. You generally can’t use straps. If your grip fails, the lift fails. Period.
- Danny Grigsby currently holds the all-time "raw" world record. In 2022, he pulled 487.5kg (1,074.5 lbs).
- Unlike the strongman giants, Grigsby uses a sumo stance (wide legs, hands inside).
- Purists argue about sumo vs. conventional all day, but 1,074 lbs is 1,074 lbs.
There’s also Krzysztof Wierzbicki, a Polish lifter who is basically a walking glitch in the matrix. Wierzbicki has pulled 502.5kg in training and even hit a 510kg pull off low blocks. Because he’s a much lighter guy than Thor or Eddie, his strength-to-weight ratio is actually higher, but since these were training lifts or done with straps in a powerlifting context, they don’t always sit at the top of the official "deadlift world record" lists.
The Elephant Bar Exception
Then there’s the Arnold Strongman Classic. They use something called the Elephant Bar. It’s longer than a standard bar, which means it bends a lot more before the plates actually leave the floor. This "whip" can be an advantage or a nightmare depending on how you time the pull. Thor holds the record here too, having pulled 474.5kg (1,046 lbs) back in 2019.
The Future: Is 550kg Actually Possible?
We are living in a weirdly accelerated era of strength. Thor Björnsson recently announced he’s aiming for the Enhanced Games in May 2024 (and continuing his prep into 2026), where he’s openly talked about the possibility of a 550kg (1,212 lbs) deadlift.
Is it possible? Most experts would have said "no" ten years ago. But the sport has changed. Recovery tech, nutritional science, and—let’s be real—pharmacological advances have pushed the ceiling higher.
Benedikt Magnusson, the legendary Icelandic puller who held the record before the Hall/Thor era with a 461kg raw pull, used to say the deadlift is 80% mental. When you're pulling over half a ton, your brain is screaming at you that your spine is about to snap. The guys breaking records now are the ones who can turn that voice off.
What You Should Take Away
If you're looking to track the "real" record, keep these categories separate in your head:
- Ultimate Heavy (Strongman/Equipped): Hafthor Björnsson at 510kg.
- Raw Powerlifting (No Straps/No Suit): Danny Grigsby at 487.5kg.
- The "Glitch" Category: Krzysztof Wierzbicki (unofficial training pulls over 500kg).
If you're looking to improve your own deadlift, don't worry about half-ton weights. Focus on bracing your core and keeping the bar close to your shins. Most people fail because the bar drifts forward, turning the lift into a leverage battle they can't win.
Keep an eye on the Enhanced Games and the World Deadlift Championships later this year. The record is currently 510kg, but if Thor’s training footage is any indication, that number is going to look "small" very soon.
Actionable Next Steps
- Watch the footage: If you haven't seen Thor's 510kg pull, find it. Notice how he "pulls the slack" out of the bar before the plates move. That's a masterclass in technique.
- Check the Federations: If you're a stats nerd, follow Open Powerlifting for the most up-to-date raw records and Giants Live for the strongman side of things.
- Film your lifts: You don't need to pull 1,000 lbs to get injured. Use your phone to check your back angle on your warm-up sets; if it's rounding early, you're giving away free strength.