One year ago, after lifting 1,018 pounds(462kg) and smashing the existing world record in the presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger, strongman Eddie Hall said: “There’s more in the bank. I think I will be the first man to do the 1,102 pounds (500kg) deadlift.”
Just three years ago strongmen were battling to hit the 900 pounds mark, so nobody believed that the 1,102 pounds (500kg) lift was even possible.
But this year at the World Deadlift Championship in Leeds, England, the 28-year-old Englishman succeeded at the impossible and pulled a half-ton weight off the ground. Now Eddie Hall is the first man in the world to perform this Herculean lift, engraving his name forever in the athletic hall of fame.
But his achievement didn’t come without a price – Hall collapsed immediately after the lift and revealed that the burst blood vessels in his head nearly killed him. “The pressure on my body was surreal. I passed out after. I had nose bleeds. It’s not healthy doing something like that”, he explained. “But I’ve done it. I’m sure it will be in the history books for a very long time.” The heroic effort drained Hall of all he got and he had to be helped by his supporting team to get back on his feet after the lift.
We all agree with Hall that his new record will stand unbroken for a long time, until somebody even crazier – or Hall himself – dares to challenge it. Even though Hall said that he doesn’t want to perform such a dangerous lift again, he also added that he would attempt to lift even heavier weight if someone surpassed his recent spectacular achievement.
In the meantime, despite the health consequences, Hall is enjoying his new title with great pride. “It’s that great feeling, like the first man on the moon, the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. And now I’m the first to deadlift half a ton. It’s history and I’m very proud to be a part of it”, he stated.
But then he adds: “Today pulling the 1,102 pounds (500kg), making history, it’s great… but my life ambition is to be the world’s strongest man.”
Hall has been training hard for his life dream for a while now. And recognizing the incredible level of determination and tendency for pushing himself out of the imaginable limits this strongman has showed so far, who could possibly doubt his ability to make it happen? We simply can’t wait to see what’s next from the 28-year-old giant who doesn’t have “impossible” in his vocabulary.
