One of the most amazing aspects about weightlifting is that seemingly impossible barriers continue to be smashed through training, dedication and technique.

Even as recently as 27th July 2025, Hafthor Bjornsson broke the world record for a conventional deadlift, using a dedicated bar to lift 505 kg (113.3 lbs), a previously unfathomable record given that the record is over 100 kg more than it was half a century ago.

However, beyond the bumper plates, powerlifting form and gigantic number, this record set at The Eisenhart Black Competition in Bavaria also closed the chapter on a storied, highly publicised and somewhat controversial rivalry in the world of weightlifting.

The Great Beyond

The rivalry begins with one of the most astonishing leaps in personal form ever televised when Newcastle-born strongman Eddie Hall broke two records in the same competition and created such a gulf between himself and the previous record that few thought it would be broken at all.

At the 2016 World Deadlift Championship, Eddie Hall first lifted 465 kg, beating his own record that was tied at the same event, before going up 35 kg and aiming to lift half a metric ton.

The history-making lift was made the same day and has entered weightlifting folklore. The milestone itself, the spectacle of achieving it during a televised competition and the drama caused as Mr Hall temporarily went blind, bled from his nose and ears, and fainted as soon as he safely let go of the weights added to the significance of the moment.

Given how much the lift had taken from Mr Hall, it was seen not only as the greatest lift of his life but potentially the greatest deadlift ever, one that may not even be matched, let alone exceeded.

The attempts to do so would lead to controversy and a personal animosity so great that it led to a sanctioned fight.

The Phantom Record

Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Hafthor Bjornsson met Eddie Hall in strength athletics competitions before, most notably losing by the narrowest and most controversial of margins at the 2017 World’s Strongest Man competition.

Eddie Hall retired from strength athletics not long after this due to health reasons, leaving Mr Bjornsson, best known for portraying The Mountain in the TV show Game of Thrones, feeling cheated out of a chance to prove he was the best.

Winning the next year did not give him the validation he felt he deserved, so he set his sights on Eddie Hall’s other accolade, the 500 kg world record deadlift.

Initially planning to challenge it at World’s Ultimate Strongman in 2020, its cancellation forced him to make the same attempt in his home gym with a limited audience in person.

Whilst televised worldwide and verified by Guinness World Records, the lift was contentious to some and outright disputed by others, including Eddie Hall himself.

The conventional wisdom is that all records in strength athletics should be made in competition, whilst Mr Hall went further and claimed it was achieved illegitimately through unspecified means.

Whilst officially considered the world record, it would have a remarkably strong asterisk over it, particularly before July 2025, when Thor narrowly struggled to reach the same benchmark at the prestigious Arnold Strongman Classic the same year.

Fighting For Legitimacy

The controversy even led to a boxing match between the two, predicated on the idea that both somehow held the world record, depending on which story you believed. Mr Bjornsson won via unanimous decision following six rounds, and Eddie Hall would get the victor’s name and “World’s Strongest Man” tattooed on his foot.

Despite having the record, despite the fight and despite the tattoo, Hafthor was still pushing for the record, with the goal of lifting 505 kg.

As with other world record lifts, getting to that marker required everything from preparation to cadence to form to be absolutely perfect, and with a previous pectoral tear, questions were raised as to his ability to reach the record.

Ultimately, during the deadlift-exclusive Eisenhart Black Competition, he set aside any doubts and answered any questions with a 505 kg deadlift in official competition and beyond any doubt.

Eddie Hall congratulated him, noting that records were intended to be broken. However, as strength athletes continue to reach ever-greater record heights, it raises the question of where the human limit is for weightlifting before the body simply cannot achieve any more.

Regardless, following nine years of competition and controversy, an undisputed world record has been set, inspiring generations of athletes to challenge themselves and the bar to their absolute limits.