This archive report was first published on 17 October 2019.
Published on October 17, 2019, Eddie Hall, a renowned strongman, has sparked a heated debate in the strength community by challenging Rhianon Lovelace, the 2018 U64 World's Strongest Woman, to a pound-for-pound competition.
Hall, a 2017 World's Strongest Man champion and holder of the world record deadlift, believes that there is a gap in the market for a competition that pits men against women in a strength challenge.
"How do we find out who is the world's strongest athlete, pound for pound?" Hall asks in a YouTube video. "There's a massive gap in the market. That's what strongman is missing."
"How do we find out who is the world's strongest athlete, pound for pound?" Hall wonders at the start of a new YouTube video. "There's a massive gap in the market. That's what strongman is missing." — Eddie Hall
For the competition, Hall and Lovelace used loads equivalent to their body weight for each event, with the goal of completing more reps in a given timeframe. Lovelace, who weighs 60 kilos (134 pounds) and can deadlift nearly 600 pounds, emerged victorious in the challenge.
Despite being significantly heavier than Lovelace, Hall was impressed by her strength and form, noting that she could likely perform the deadlift for an hour without stopping. He also praised her understanding of the mechanics of the strongman competition and other lifts.
As Hall predicted, the competition concluded with a big win for Lovelace. You can also check out Lovelace's companion video for more behind-the-scenes footage.
