The 2026 Giants Live Strongman Open & World Deadlift Championships took place on September 5th in Birmingham, England. The competition gathered a dozen incredible Strongmen and tested them across five events. Hafthor Bjornsson won the entire competition, while Raul Flores was crowned the World Deadlift Champion.
Hafthor Bjornsson won one of five events at the 2026 Giants Live Strongman Open, but also never placed lower than fifth throughout the entire day. As a result, he claimed a convincing win, beating the silver medalist by five points. On the other hand, Raul Flores set a new Deadlift World Record and etched his name into the history books.
2026 Giants Live Strongman Open Results
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 50.5 points
- Evans Nana Aryee — 45.5 points
- Matyáš Funiok — 44 points
- Ben Glasscock — 35.5 points
- Trey Mitchell — 34 points
- Nick Guardione — 33.5 points
- Bryce Johnson — 33.5 points
- Austin Andrade — 28 points
- Adam Bishop — 26 points
- Gavin Bilton — 24 points
- Raul Flores — 20 points
- James Jeffers — 7.5 points
Related: 2026 Canada’s Strongest Man Results — Tristain Hoath Defends His Title
Event One — Max Deadlift / World Deadlift Championships
The opening event of the 2026 Giants Live Strongman Open was the Max Deadlift, which was simultaneously classified as the World Deadlift Championships. Consequently, the men pushed themselves to the limit in order to achieve the heaviest deadlift one-rep max.
The competition opened up in a spectacular manner, as Raul Flores set a brand new Deadlift World Record. He was successful in pulling 511 kilograms (1,226.6 pounds) and thus exceeded Hafthor’s record by 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds). His feat of strength was certainly the highlight of the night and will go down in history as one of the greatest human achievements.
Hafthor Bjornsson decided not to go for the World Record, as he has put his body through a lot in recent months. However, he still managed to lock out 480 kilograms (1,058.2 pounds) to place second. Adam Bishop was the third-ranked deadlifter, with his heaviest successful lift coming out to 470 kilograms (1,036.2 pounds).
- Raul Flores — 511-kg
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 480-kg
- Adam Bishop — 470-kg
- James Jeffers — 453.5-kg
- Evans Nana Aryee — 453.5-kg
- Bryce Johnson — 453.5-kg
- Austin Andrade — 453.5-kg
- Nick Guardione — 425-kg
- Gavin Bilton — 425-kg
- Trey Mitchell — 425-kg
- Matyáš Funiok — 400-kg
- Ben Glasscock — 400-kg
Event Two — Load & Push Medley
For the second event of the competition, the athletes had to run across the field, pick up and carry three implements, load them into the wheelbarrow, and finally push the wheelbarrow to the finish line. The weight of the implements is unknown, but they were an anvil, a big tire, and a heavy sandbag. It was a timed event, prompting the athletes to race to the finish line.
Ben Glasscock ended up taking the event win in the Load & Push. He had a steady start to the race but really managed to pull it back once he picked up the final implement. So, although it did not seem that he would battle for the win in the first half of the race, his strategic approach worked perfectly.
Matyáš Funiok’s performance was the exact opposite, as he got off to a very quick start. It also worked well for him, as he beat everyone apart from Ben Glasscock. Funiok’s time came out to 47.46 seconds. Nick Guardione claimed third place 0.21 seconds before Evans Nana Aryee.
- Ben Glasscock — 4 in 46.64 s
- Matyáš Funiok — 4 in 47.46 s
- Nick Guardione — 4 in 51.42 s
- Evans Nana Aryee — 4 in 51.63 s
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 4 in 51.67 s
- Bryce Johnson — 4 in 54.72 s
- Austin Andrade — 4 in 56.70 s
- Adam Bishop — 4 in 58.70 s
- Trey Mitchell — 4 in 62.10 s
- Raul Flores — 18.25 m
- Gavin Bilton — 11.75 m
- James Jeffers — No lift
Event Three — Titan’s Toss
The third event of the 2026 Giants Live Strongman Open was the Titan’s Toss. It tasked the athletes with tossing ten sandbags over a beam. However, as they progressed through the sandbag series, they got further away from the beam, which made the task even more difficult.
Hafthor Bjornsson topped the leaderboard, missing just one of his ten throws. However, seeing that multiple other men achieved the same result, it came down to who did it faster. Hafthor’s time of 31.05 seconds was more than enough to secure him the event win.
Matyáš Funiok placed second once again, successfully throwing nine sandbags in 32.56 seconds. Furthermore, Evans Nana Aryee rounded out the top three with nine throws in 34.53 seconds.
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 9 in 31.05 s
- Matyáš Funiok — 9 in 32.56 s
- Evans Nana Aryee — 9 in 34.53 s
- Gavin Bilton — 9 in 39.19 s
- Adam Bishop — 9 in 40.53 s
- Nick Guardione — 8 in 35.36 s
- Trey Mitchell — 8 in 45.25 s
- Bryce Johnson — 7 in 39.50 s
- Ben Glasscock — 5 in 36.67 s
- Austin Andrade — 4 in 29.05 s
- Raul Flores — 2 in 23.21 s
- James Jeffers — Withdrawn
Event Four — Dumbbell Press
The penultimate event of the 2026 Giants Live Strongman Open was the Dumbbell Press. So, the athletes had to complete as many reps as possible of a single-handed 95-kilogram (209.4-pound) dumbbell press. Following the completion of a rep, the athletes had to drop the dumbbell down to the floor before picking it back up to start the next rep.
Ben Glasscock, Evans Nana Aryee, and Trey Mitchell completed seven repetitions each, which put them in a tie for first place. Hafthor Bjornsson completed just one rep less, minimizing the damage and making sure to keep his overall lead.
- Ben Glasscock — 7 reps
- Evans Nana Aryee — 7 reps
- Trey Mitchell — 7 reps
- Matyáš Funiok — 6 reps
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 6 reps
- Nick Guardione — 5 reps
- Austin Andrade — 5 reps
- Gavin Bilton — 4 reps
- Bryce Johnson — 3 reps
- Adam Bishop — 1 rep
- Raul Flores — 0 reps
- James Jeffers — Withdrawn
Event Five — Atlas Stones
The 2026 Giants Live Strongman Open concluded with the Atlas Stones. It consisted of five implements, with the final one coming out to 200 kilograms (440.9 pounds). The athletes had to pick the stones up and load them onto a platform. The time needed to complete the event was used as a separator.
Matyáš Funiok wrapped up his performance with an event win and a truly spectacular showing on the stones. He needed just 22.87 seconds to complete the challenge and narrowly beat Hafthor Bjornsson.
Hafthor Bjornsson’s second place in the Atlas Stones was enough to officially secure him the overall victory. Bryce Johnson placed third in the event, loading the final stone two seconds after Bjornsson.
- Matyáš Funiok — 5 in 22.87s
- Hafthor Bjornsson — 5 in 23.13s
- Bryce Johnson — 5 in 25.33s
- Trey Mitchell — 5 in 29.87s
- Evans Nana Aryee — 5 in 29.91s
- Ben Glasscock — 4 in 21.47s
- Nick Guardione — 4 in 24.49s
- Austin Andrade — 4 in 26.39s
- Gavin Bilton — 1 in 5.93s
- Raul Flores — 1 in 58.76s
- Adam Bishop — No lift
- James Jeffers — Withdrawn
Related: 2026 North America’s Strongest Man & Woman Results
Hafthor Bjornsson continued to cement his Strongman legacy at the 2026 Giants Live Strongman Open, proving once again that he is arguably the greatest athlete that the sport has ever seen. The competition also highlighted a number of new prospects, along with Raul Flores who might end up pushing the Deadlift World Record to unimaginable heights.
