Eddie Hall has ruled out making a sensational return to Strongman, insisting there is nothing left for him to prove after reaching the pinnacle of the sport.
Hall walked away from strongman after winning the World’s Strongest Man title in 2017, having also become the first person in history to deadlift 500kg.
Despite remaining heavily involved in the sport through commentary work, the possibility of seeing The Beast competing again appears to be firmly off the table.
Speaking during an interview with Men’s Health UK, Hall was asked whether he could ever see himself returning to Strongman and what his top-end strength looks like today.
His response was clear.
“I don’t think I’ll ever return to Strongman,” he said.
Hall explained that health implications were ultimately behind his decision to walk away.
While he said nothing was particularly wrong with him at the time, his health markers and enormous bodyweight meant he felt he was constantly pushing the limits.
A doctor eventually gave Hall a stark warning about his risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, which helped convince him that it was time to leave the sport behind.
Hall said he didn’t want to reach a point where something serious happened and he was left questioning why he hadn’t stopped earlier.
But there is another major reason he has no desire to launch a comeback.
Hall believes he has already achieved everything he needed to in strongman.
“There’s nothing else for me to prove. Even if I returned to World’s Strongest Man and won another title, it’s like, ‘Oh, he’s got two now,'” he said.
The same applies to the deadlift.
Hall famously became the first man to break the 500kg barrier, an achievement which guaranteed his place in strength-sport history.
For him, simply returning to add another kilogram or two wouldn’t carry the same significance.
“What’s the comeback and pull 501 kilo, 502 kilos? It’s like, where’d you draw the line?” he said.
Hall instead views the combination of his World’s Strongest Man victory and historic half-tonne deadlift as the perfect way to define his competitive career.
“For me, winning World’s Strongest Man is the absolute pinnacle. And combining that with the half-ton deadlift, like the first man to ever do it, that’s just been pinnacle for me,” he said.
And after accomplishing both, Hall believes his legacy in the sport is already secure.
“That’s all I needed. I’ve cemented my name in the history books and I’ve got nothing left to prove,” he said.
Hall concluded: “I don’t need to go back and prove myself. I’ve done it.”
These days, Hall’s athletic focus has shifted elsewhere, with fight training, arm wrestling and weight training all forming part of his routine.
Strongman remains a major part of his life, but as far as stepping back into competition is concerned, Hall appears perfectly content leaving his career exactly where it finished.
Featured image credit: The Good, The Bad, The Beast / YouTube / Eddie Hall / Instagram
