Heinla is quickly becoming deadlift royalty.
When it comes to massive deadlifts, Rauno Heinla hits, sees, and almost always wins. The seasoned strongman now has another conquest to brag about. On July 22, 2023, during the 2023 Tartu Rammumees ja Rammunaine (TRJR) contest, Heinla successfully blocked a 540 kilograms (1,190.5 lb) 18-inch deadlift. An 18-inch deadlift features athletes pulling on a bar loaded with large-diameter plates, leaving the bar 18 inches from the ground. Heinla’s mark is a world recordsurpassing the previous high bar by 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds). The athlete wore a lifting belt and used lifting straps to assist with the pull.
The previous record belonged to 2020 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Oleksii Novikov, who finished an 18-inch deadlift at 537.5 kilograms (1,185 pounds) en route to his WSM title. Now, the record is held by Heinla, 41, who adds to her hallowed reputation as one of the world’s best deadlifters. Novikov offered Heinla a simple “congratulations” in the comments section of the Instagram post showcasing the record-breaking 18-inch deadlift.
A record deadlift of any variation is nothing new for Heinla. If anything, based on his productive 2022, it might come as a surprise that the Estonian athlete has taken so long to add another deadlift achievement to his resume.
In early June 2022, Heinla broke the silver dollar deadlift world record with a jerk jerk. 579.7 kilograms (1,278 lb) at the 2022 Silver Dollar Estonian Deadlift Championships (SDDEC). He would follow up that performance by breaking Master’s world deadlift record with a pull of 476 kilograms (1,049.4 lb), earning him the 2022 World Deadlift Championship (WDC) title.
for his page in strong men archivesHeinla has had a very active competitive career in recent months, most notably finishing as runner-up at both the 2022 Master’s World’s Strongest Man (MWSM) and 2023 Australia’s Strongest International (ASI). However, none of his recent all-around achievements can compare to now holding three separate deadlift world records in three separate pull events.
After securing another world record, Heinla is likely to shift his focus to one of the biggest unicorns in strength sports: the all-time deadlift world record of 501 kilograms (1,104.5 lbs) set by Hafthor Björnsson in May 2020. Heinla will have a chance to make history as a member of the 2023 WDC roster, taking place as part of the Giants Live World Open (GLWO). ) 2023. on September 2, 2023 in Cardiff, Wales.
Giants Live organization is offering a $55,000 prize to any WDC 2023 athlete who can break the record and deadweight of at least 505 kilograms (1,113.3 lbs). If there was a pick for any strongman capable of reaching the milestone, Heinla would undoubtedly be one of the most plausible choices.
Featured Image: @rauno_heinla on Instagram
