On August 6, 2022, strongman Rauno Heinla deadlifted 476 kilograms (1,049.4 kilos) throughout the 2022 World Deadlift Championships (WDC) in Cardiff, Wales. Not only did the max one-rep pull give the 40-year-old Heinla the win within the 2022 WDC — which was an element of the general Giants Live World Open — it’s a recent Master’s World Record by 39.6 kilograms (87.4 kilos).
Mikhail Shivlyakov held the previous record mark due to a deadlift of 436 kilograms (962 kilos) from the 2020 World’s Ultimate Strongman (WUS) “Feats of Strength” series.
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The 2022 WDC began by tasking the athletes with an initial deadlift weight of 400 kilograms (881.9 kilos) before progressing to 425.5 kilograms (938.1 kilos), then 453.5 kilograms (999.8 kilos). Five athletes — Heinla, Graham Hicks, Mitchell Hooper, Ivan Makarov, and Pavlo Nakonechnyy — attempted a minimum of 453.6 kilograms (1,000 kilos).
Nevertheless, Heinla was the only competitor in a position to lock out a rep of 1,000 kilos or more successfully, and he took home the victory consequently. Heinla and former World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champions Hafthor Björnsson (2018) and Eddie Hall (2017) remain the one strongmen to have ever deadlifted that much weight from the ground.
Notably, not one of the athletes could deadlift 505 kilograms (1,113 kilos) throughout the contest. The Giants Live organization would have rewarded the strongman who achieved such a feat with a $55,000 prize. Björnsson still owns the heaviest strongman deadlift of all-time at 501 kilograms (1,104.5 kilos). He captured that mark on the 2020 WUS “Feats of Strength” series.
Listed below are the entire top results from the 2022 World Deadlift Championships:
2022 World Deadlift Championships Final Standings
- Rauno Heinla — 476 kilograms (1,049.4 kilos) | 2022 WDC Champion
- Graham Hicks — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 kilos)
- Mitchell Hooper — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 kilos)
- Ivan Makarov — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 kilos)
- Pavlo Nakonechnyy — 453.5 kilograms (999.8 kilos)
- Gavin Bilton — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 kilos)
- Oleksii Novikov — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 kilos)
- Evan Singleton — 425.5 kilograms (938.1 kilos)
- Shane Flowers — 400 Kilograms (881.9 kilos)
- Andy Black — 400 Kilograms (881.9 kilos)
- Pa O’Dwyer — 400 Kilograms (881.9 kilos)
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A Fitting Moment
Heinla winning the 2022 WDC may very well be seen as an ideal culmination of much of his recent training focus.
In mid-June 2022, the Estonian athlete deadlifted 420 kilograms (926 kilos) for 4 reps with ease. Then, in early July, Heinla first teased a recent Master’s World Record with a pull of 450 kilograms (992 kilos) — which was 30 kilos greater than the past top mark. Heinla would eclipse that unofficial training feat by 26 kilograms (57.4 kilos) with the brand new Master’s World Record on the 2022 WDC.
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Heinla adds the Master’s World Record to a formidable resume of deadlift accomplishments. He possesses the all-time 400-kilogram (881.8-pound) deadlift for reps World Record with six on the 2020 World’s Ultimate Strongman Feats of Strength series. Plus, he can also be the Silver Dollar World Record holder with a pull of 579.7 kilograms (1,278 kilos) on the 2022 Silver Dollar Deadlift Estonian Championship.
With Heinla’s victory on the 2022 WDC, certainly one of strongman’s best deadlifters can now officially call himself the world’s top lively deadlifter.
Featured image: @rauno_heinla