A 26-year-old from Tamaulipas just moved the most famous number in strength sport by a single kilogram. Here is what he actually did, and why one kilo is a bigger deal than it sounds.
On September 5, 2026, at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, Raul Flores pulled 511 kilograms off the floor and rewrote the record books. That is 1,126.6 pounds, and it broke the previous mark of 510 kilograms set at the same championship a year earlier by Hafthor Bjornsson. The margin was one kilogram. In a discipline where the record had barely moved in half a decade, that single kilo is why the clip raced around the world.
Flores is 26, from Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and he competes under the nickname “Tayzon.” Most people had never heard his name before that Saturday. By Sunday he was being called the strongest deadlifter alive, and the reaction across Mexico read like a national sporting moment, because it was one.
Bottom Line First
Raul Flores set a new deadlift world record of 511 kilograms at the 2026 World Deadlift Championships, beating Hafthor Bjornsson’s 510-kilogram record by one kilo. The lift was done under strongman rules, which allow a deadlift suit, a belt, and lifting straps. That makes it the heaviest competition deadlift in history, and Flores is only the third man to pull 500 kilograms or more in a sanctioned event.
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What Raul Flores Actually Lifted
The setting matters. The World Deadlift Championships, run by Giants Live, is the one stage where these numbers are chased seriously, in front of judges, with the whole strength world watching. Flores had shown the form was there, locking out 504 kilograms in training in the weeks before, so 511 was not a wild swing. It was a planned attack on a record he clearly believed was reachable.
He got the bar to the floor, drove it up, locked his hips and knees, and held it for the officials’ decision. Once the down signal came, it was done: a clean, sanctioned lift at an official event, with the previous record holder standing a few feet away. Bjornsson was in the building and, by several accounts, among the first to congratulate him.
Why a Strongman Deadlift Is Not a Gym Deadlift
Here is the part that trips people up, and it is worth getting right before you compare numbers. A world-record strongman deadlift is not the same lift you grind out at your local gym, and it is not the same as a raw powerlifting deadlift either.
Under strongman rules at an event like this, lifters are allowed:
- A deadlift suit, a stiff supportive garment that stores and returns a little tension off the floor.
- Lifting straps, which wrap the hands to the bar so grip strength is not the limiting factor.
- A lifting belt, for bracing the trunk under load.
None of that makes 511 kilograms easy. It is still an almost incomprehensible amount of weight, and only a handful of humans have ever moved anything close. The gear just explains why competition deadlift records run higher than raw records, where straps and suits are banned. So when you see 511 kilograms, read it as the equipped, strongman-rules record, not a bare-hands gym pull. That distinction is exactly what separates this number from the raw records powerlifters chase.
Where 511 Kilograms Sits in History
The 500-kilogram barrier is strength sport’s version of the four-minute mile. Eddie Hall was the first through it, pulling 500 kilograms at the 2016 World Deadlift Championships and collapsing afterward from the effort. Bjornsson answered with 501 kilograms in a filmed 2020 event, then pushed the competition record to 510 kilograms in 2025.
Flores now sits on top at 511. Reporting from the event noted he became just the third man in history to lift 500 kilograms or more in competition, which tells you how thin the air is up here. The record has gone from 500 to 511 in a decade, and most of that came in the last two years. After a long plateau, the number is moving again.
The Story Behind the Lift
The number is the headline, but the reason it traveled so far is the story attached to it. Flores lifts as “Tayzon,” a name he took from his dog. After the dog died, he has said, he promised the name would be known around the world. When the 511 was good, he pointed to a tattoo of Tayzon on his skin. He wasn’t just lifting a barbell, he told the crowd, he was lifting a promise.
That is the kind of moment that turns a niche strength record into something people who have never watched strongman will share. Add the national angle, a young Mexican athlete beating a Game of Thrones-famous Icelandic legend on British soil, and you have a clip built to spread. Full disclosure: I went in expecting a dry record note and came out having watched the lift three times.
What Comes Next
The obvious question is how much higher this can go. Bjornsson, far from bitter, framed it as good for the sport, saying a real rival makes it more exciting. That points at the likeliest near-term story: a back-and-forth between the two of them, plus a rising group of lifters now within striking distance of 500 kilograms.
Whether 520 is physically on the table is a genuine open question, and the honest answer is that nobody knows. Every kilo past 500 has come slowly and at real physical cost. What changed this month is simple: the ceiling everyone measured themselves against now reads 511, and it has a new name under it.
Main Takeaways
- Raul Flores deadlifted 511 kilograms (1,126.6 pounds) on September 5, 2026, at the World Deadlift Championships in Birmingham.
- The lift broke Hafthor Bjornsson’s 510-kilogram record by one kilogram.
- It was set under strongman rules, which permit a deadlift suit, belt, and straps, so it is the equipped competition record, not a raw pull.
- Flores is only the third man to lift 500 kilograms or more in a sanctioned event, after Eddie Hall and Bjornsson.
- The record has moved from 500 to 511 kilograms in a decade, with most of the gain coming since 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
How heavy was Raul Flores’ deadlift record?
Raul Flores lifted 511 kilograms, which is about 1,126.6 pounds. He set the mark on September 5, 2026, at the World Deadlift Championships in Birmingham, England, breaking the previous record by one kilogram.
Whose record did Raul Flores break?
He broke Hafthor Bjornsson’s record of 510 kilograms, which the Icelandic strongman set at the same championship in 2025. Bjornsson was present when Flores made the lift and congratulated him afterward.
Is a 511kg strongman deadlift the same as a raw deadlift?
No. Flores lifted under strongman rules, which allow a deadlift suit, a lifting belt, and straps that secure the hands to the bar. Raw powerlifting bans that equipment, so raw records are lower. The 511-kilogram mark is the equipped competition record.
Who is Raul Flores?
Raul Flores is a 26-year-old strongman from Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas, Mexico. He competes under the nickname “Tayzon,” taken from his late dog, and was relatively unknown internationally before setting the record.
How many people have deadlifted 500kg or more?
According to reporting from the event, Flores is only the third man to lift 500 kilograms or more in a sanctioned competition, after Eddie Hall, who first broke 500 kilograms in 2016, and Hafthor Bjornsson.
Final Word
Records usually fall in slabs of confidence, one dominant athlete pushing the number over and over. This one changed hands on a single kilo, from a legend to a 26-year-old almost nobody outside strength sport had heard of a week ago. That is what makes it stick. The next time someone lines up under a loaded bar at the World Deadlift Championships, the number to beat is 511, and the man who set it did it for a dog named Tayzon. For more coverage, browse ShoutPost’s Sports section, and readers into training and fitness may like the Health section too.