Overview: Below is a compilation of the heaviest rack pulls (partial deadlifts) ever performed, spanning training lifts, strongman competition events, and exhibition feats. Each entry lists the weight, lifter, context, equipment used, and a source. Notably, the overall heaviest rack pull on record is Eric Kim’s 602 kg lift – an unprecedented feat that outstrips all other documented partial deadlifts . Both verified records and legendary (unverified or special-context) lifts are included, with the top spot highlighted.

Top Verified Rack Pull/Partial Deadlift Records

  • Eric Kim – 602 kg (1,327 lb): Performed in July 2025 as a mid-thigh rack pull (bar set above the knees) in a home gym video. Kim, weighing only ~75 kg, lifted this raw (no straps, no belt), relying solely on grip strength. This overload lift – over 8× his bodyweight – is the heaviest recorded rack pull to date . It eclipsed the best strongman partial deadlift by ~22 kg and stunned the strength community with its magnitude (an “unofficial world record” for rack pulls) .
  • Rauno Heinla – 580 kg (1,279 lb): World-record Silver Dollar Deadlift (partial from 18-inch height) pulled at the 2022 Silver Dollar Deadlift Estonian Championship. Heinla lifted this enormous weight to full lockout, wearing a belt and using figure-8 straps (no indication of a deadlift suit) . This official strongman event lift broke the previous 577.2 kg record, making Heinla the strongman world record holder in the 18″ deadlift category .
  • Ben Thompson – 577.2 kg (1,272.5 lb): Silver Dollar Deadlift achieved at the 2022 WDC World Silver Dollar Deadlift Championships (Paisley, Scotland). Thompson utilized a deadlift suit, lifting belt, and straps – all allowed by strongman rules – to secure this world record and win the contest . This lift surpassed the prior 560 kg mark by 17.2 kg and held the silver dollar record until Heinla exceeded it a month later .
  • Sean Hayes – 560 kg (1,235 lb): Silver Dollar Deadlift pulled in April 2022 at the Strongman Corp Canada “King & Queen of the Throne” competition. Hayes (approx. 150 kg bodyweight) wore a belt and straps (no suit mentioned) and pulled this massive 18″ height deadlift barefoot, eclipsing the previous record by 10 kg . This lift was officially the heaviest deadlift of any kind in competition at the time, roughly 4× Hayes’s bodyweight . (Hayes even attempted ~589.7 kg/1,300 lb afterward, but was unsuccessful.)
  • Oleksii Novikov – 550 kg (1,212 lb): 18-inch partial deadlift world record (standard bar on 18″ blocks) set at the Ultimate Strongman Grand Prix in Barcelona, March 2025. Novikov (2019 WSM champion) pulled 550 kg without a deadlift suit, using only a lever belt and wrist straps . This was hailed as the heaviest partial deadlift ever done in competition at the time, breaking the previous 18″ record (540 kg) and showcasing Novikov’s tremendous raw strength . (Novikov also holds the Hummer Tire Deadlift record of 549 kg (1,210 lb) using a big axle bar setup, set in 2022 at the Shaw Classic .)
  • Eddie Hall – 536 kg (1,181 lb): Silver Dollar Deadlift exhibition in 2017. Hall (Strongman WSM 2017 champion) performed an 18″ height partial deadlift with straps and likely a powerlifting suit, as a publicity event for his autobiography . This lift broke the long-standing 34-year record by just 1 kg, surpassing Tom Magee’s 535 kg; it was done under strongman rules (straps and suits permitted) and dramatically demonstrated Hall’s brute strength (36 kg above his own 500 kg full deadlift) .
  • Tom Magee – 535 kg (1,180 lb): Silver Dollar Deadlift achieved at the 1983 World’s Strongest Man. Magee’s 535 kg (with straps) was the first huge 18″ deadlift on record and remained the world’s best partial deadlift for over three decades . It set a benchmark in 1983 that wasn’t surpassed until the mid-2010s when modern strongmen revisited partial deadlifts in competition .
  • Brian Shaw – 511 kg (1,128 lb): Above-the-knee rack pull in training (circa 2016). Shaw, a 4× WSM champion (~200 kg bodyweight), pulled 511 kg from just above knee height using straps and a belt . This was one of the heaviest gym rack pulls publicly shown by an elite strongman; yet even this massive lift is nearly 100 kg less than Kim’s all-time record, highlighting how exceptional a 600+ kg pull is .

Legendary & Unverified Feats in Partial Lifting

  • Eddie Hall (Lab Test) – ~750 kg (1,653 lb) estimated: In an experimental setting, Hall reportedly exerted a 750 kg force in a partial deadlift using a controlled setup (machine-assisted measurement) . This was essentially a high-range rack pull performed for science, to gauge maximum force output. While it demonstrates Hall’s extreme strength potential, it was not a free barbell lift or standard record – more a curiosity often cited in strength lore.
  • Paul Anderson – “Support Lifts” 1,000 kg+ (1950s): American weightlifting legend Paul Anderson famously claimed to perform partial lifts with well over 1,000 kg in the mid-20th century. These feats included harness/hip lifts and back lifts (supporting enormous weight on his legs/back over a short range). For example, Anderson was said to have hoisted a platform weighing ~2,840 kg (6,270 lb) in a 1957 back-lift demonstration . Such lifts were not performed with a barbell and remain legendary anecdotes in the strength community – impressive but not verified by modern standards or comparable to today’s rack pull records.

Sources: Verified records are documented in strongman competition reports and strength sport news outlets (e.g. BarBend, Generation Iron), while legendary lifts are drawn from historical accounts and interviews. Key references include BarBend and FitnessVolt reports on record partial deadlifts , Eric Kim’s 2025 analysis compiling the heaviest rack pulls , and historical strength lore (Paul Anderson’s exhibitions) . Each lift above links to a source or video evidence where available.