On July 26, Hafthor Björnsson proved that he is, once and for all, the world’s strongest conventional deadlifter – and he might be positioned to continue making history with record pulls in the near future.

Thor successfully pulled 505 kilograms (around 1,113 pounds) on a standard deadlift bar at the Eisenhart Black competition in Germany on July 26. This breaks the record he set back in 2020 of 501 kilograms, while also dashing any doubts of the legitimacy of his place in history. Some strength fans (and certain rivals) contested that since the 2020 lift was conducted outside of an official competition at his home gym, it should not have been counted for an official record (even though it was sanctioned by competitive authorities). Now that he’s bested that number in a more formal contest, there’s no room for controversy.

The record attempt itself was a relatively smooth rep, with just a slight hitch as he pulled the weight up above his knees to lock out. This was a Strongman-style attempt, which means Björnsson wore a lifting suit, belt, and figure-eight straps.

Possibly the most astounding aspect of the record is that Björnsson was forced to adjust his approach on the fly. His coach, Sebastian Oreb, shared a video breaking down the event shortly after the competition. According to Oreb, the Eleiko powerlifting platform used for the attempt was carpeted, which interfered with Björnsson’s typical deadlift cadence, in which he rolls the bar into his starting position to prepare for the pull. The plates caught on the platform surface, and he wasn’t able to get the bar into proper position. Björnsson adjusted by shortening his roll out, although this could potentially have affected his pulling power. ‘To pull 505, everything needed to be perfect – and it wasn’t,’ Oreb said in the video. Clearly, Björnsson was still strong enough to nail the lift.

Björnsson had discussed the potential for this record lift in an interview with Men’s Health earlier this year, when he attempted (and just missed) a 501 kilogram deadlift using an Elephant Bar at the 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic competition. But there are likely more attempts coming in his future.

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‘I definitely have some other records in mind,’ he said in February before the event. ‘It’s all about opportunities and timing. So if I get the opportunity and the right offer, I might attempt different records as well. I’m definitely open for discussion.’

The first opportunity appears to be the upcoming 2025 World Deadlift Championships at the Giants Live Strongman Open on September 6. Björnsson has already indicated that he plans to attempt a 510 kilogram (about 1,124 pounds) lift, so the record that stood for over five years could fall in just over five weeks.

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