New absolute world record! Hafthor Bjornsson pulled 510 kg

On Saturday 6 September 2025, the world record tables were rewritten in Birmingham again. Hafthor Bjornsson set a new absolute world record of 510 kg, beating his poor 2-month-old attempt by 5 kg. He thus became the only person in the world to officially lift a barbell with a weight starting with the number 5 in more than 2 attempts. So now this weekend it was the third record in a row. Hafthor is no closer to Eddie Hall's feat from 2016, who was the first person in the world to lift half a ton - a straight 500kg.

Moreover, Hafthor's attempt looked very easy, so we can certainly look forward to more progress. In addition, I might like to state that hell froze over on Saturday as well. The Icelandic giant has vowed never to race again under the Giant's Live banner or World's Strongest Man, which have the same promoter Colin Bryce, after a rift in 2017 and continuing in 2019. Not only did that not happen and Thor set a record in Birmingham, but his performance wasn't "just" an out-of-race appearance. Bjornsson completed the entire 2025 Giant's Live World Open which we will bring you a detailed report on.