Raúl Flores, the Mexican who now holds the deadlift world record: 1,126.6 pounds, putting Mexico at the pinnacle of strength
Flores surpassed by about 2.2 pounds the record that had been held since 2025 by Icelandic athlete Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, known as The Mountain from "Game of Thrones," and became the first man in history to surpass 1,124.4 pounds in this event within the strongman competition format.
(Voz / Christian Camacho)
Mexico has a new name among the world's strength elite. The Tamaulipas-born strongman Raúl Abraham "Tayzon" Flores Castro became the holder of the absolute world deadlift record Saturday by lifting 1,126.6 pounds at the 2026 World Deadlift Championships, held in Birmingham, England.
With that lift, Flores surpassed by about 2.2 pounds the record that had been held since 2025 by the Icelander Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, known as The Mountain from "Game of Thrones," and became the first man in history to exceed 1,124.4 pounds in this event within the strongman competition format.
A record with a Mexican touch
Raúl Flores, 26, originally from Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, accomplished the feat at the Utilita Arena during the Giants Live Strongman Open and the World Deadlift Championship. His lift of 1,126.6 pounds not only earned him the title of 2026 World Deadlift Champion, but also established Mexico as the home country of the current all-time record holder in this discipline.
Until that moment, the all-time record had been held by Björnsson at 1,124.4 pounds, a figure that seemed untouchable and which the Icelandic athlete himself had achieved in the same competition a year earlier. Flores added just 2.2 pounds, but it was enough to etch his name into the official records and take the mark into uncharted territory: more than 1,102 pounds in a single lift from the ground.
From Tamaulipas to the top of Strongman
A year later, in 2026, he arrived in Birmingham with spectacular progress: in the preceding months, he had lifted weights close to 1,111 pounds in training, placing him just a few pounds shy of the world record and fueling expectations that Mexico could have its first-ever all-time deadlift record holder.
His progress was clear: he went from the 1,000 pounds he lifted at the 2025 World Championships to 1,126.6 pounds in 2026, a 126.8-pound jump in 12 months that cemented his place at the top of the sport.
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