When Eddie Hall pulled 500 kilograms in 2016, the world of strength sport changed forever.
The Brit became the first human in history to deadlift half a tonne — a lift so colossal that it blurred the line between the possible and the mythical. Eight years later, fans are still talking about that night in Leeds, when Hall, blood streaming from his nose, roared his way into sporting legend.
Let’s remind ourselves of that groundbreaking moment:
And now, Hall himself is saying he could’ve gone even further.
Speaking on his podcast The Good, The Bad, and The Beast alongside fellow strongman Paddy Haynes, “The Beast” didn’t mince his words.
“If you are naive to sit there and say I couldn’t have deadlifted more than 500kg, you’re f***ing joking yourselves,” Hall said. “We all know I could have. A year later at World’s [Strongest Man] 2017, I was just so much f**ing stronger.”
Haynes was quick to back the point up, reminding listeners that Hall’s 472kg pull at World’s Strongest Man 2017 — using a stiff bar and coming after 13 brutal events — is still regarded by many as the greatest deadlift ever performed.
But Hall says there’s a point where even the strongest man alive has to draw a line.
“This is the thing though, right, you’ve got to draw a line in the sand somewhere and walk away. And that was my draw a line in the sand moment. Now Thor’s come along and done 510, he’s probably got 530 – maybe a little more in there? He looks like he’s got some good weight in there. Someone – 20, 30, 40 years from now – will be doing way more than that. You just don’t know.”
Hall’s comments come just weeks after Hafthor Bjornsson — his long-time rival and the only man ever to surpass him — shattered the world deadlift record again, pulling an earth-shaking 510kg (1,124lbs) at the 2025 World Deadlift Championship in Birmingham.
It’s now the third time the Icelandic powerhouse has broken the record, following his (somewhat disputed) 501kg lift in 2020 and 505kg earlier this summer. And as always, comparisons to Hall’s iconic 500kg lift were inevitable.
Speaking on fellow strongman Mitchell Hooper’s YouTube channel, Hall struck a tone of respect — and realism.
“I just respect strength where respect is due,” Hall said. “I’m happy and content with what I did in the strongman world, and I’m happy and content that I did set the boundary at 500 kilos. I know I hit my limits — there was more there, it’s obvious there’s more there. But for a 6’2” and a bit guy to go and lift 500 kilos… I should not really be able to lift that kind of f***ing weight.”
And in classic Hall fashion, he wasn’t afraid to push back on the long-running “taller lifters struggle more” narrative.
He said: “Whereas, Thor is 6’9”. People say taller athletes have a harder time deadlifting, and that’s bull***t. I think it’s actually easier. The levers are longer, you’ve got more potential for more muscle mass… I think you’ve got more potential for being bigger.
“So for Thor, I honestly think that 510kg he did is probably touching the iceberg. I think there’s more there. And I’ve got to respect that. And I do respect that — you know, I’ll always respect that. We may not see eye to eye as [people], but I’ll always respect what he can do and that he is f***ing strong.
“I’ll never deny that. He’s f***ing strong, and he’s an amazing athlete.”
READ MORE: Eddie Hall Shares His Thoughts On If Anybody Will Ever Lift 600kg
For all the rivalry and history between them, Hall insists he’s far from bitter about losing his record.
“There’s no point me being sour. Records are made to be broken. They’re not there to stand for f***ing ever. I take some pride in some respects.
“If I hadn’t have done 500 kilos back in 2016 — the world record at the time was 463. Right? It had only been going up about a kilo a year for years — in my opinion, if I hadn’t come along with the belief of doing 500, we’d probably still be at 470, maybe 480, if we were lucky.
“So it’s me that set that target, and then everyone pounced on it — like, wow, 500 is possible. It’s the torchbearer in a way.”
Few storylines in modern Strongman have burned as brightly — or as personally — as Hall vs Bjornsson. Their rivalry hit boiling point at the 2017 World’s Strongest Man, where Hall famously edged Thor by a single point to claim his one and only WSM crown. Bjornsson’s accusations of unfair judging in the Viking Press sparked a feud that would define an era.
The tension carried through to 2020, when Thor broke Hall’s 500kg mark with a 501kg lift performed in a gym — a record Hall dismissed for not being completed under live competition rules. Two years later, they took their beef into the boxing ring in The Heaviest Boxing Match in History, where Bjornsson emerged victorious by unanimous decision.
But even after all that, the deadlift remains their shared proving ground — and the respect, undeniable.
Bjornsson himself wrote after his 510kg triumph: “Crazy how easy it felt. I honestly believe I could have deadlifted 530kg yesterday. What do you guys think?”
Hall agrees. His take? The 510 is “probably touching the iceberg.”
Eddie Hall drew the line in the sand. The rest of the world is still trying to cross it.
Featured image credit: Instagram/goodbadbeast/YouTube/Eddie Hall – The Beast
