Hayes’ new Canadian record didn’t come without a cost.
Sean Hayes has developed a reputation for impeccable strength when it comes to deadlifts of all variations. The athlete can now add another achievement to his running laundry list.
On October 30, 2022, Hayes shared an Instagram clip of himself capturing an Axle Deadlift of 474 kilograms (1,045 pounds) during a training session. According to the caption of his post, Hayes’ pull is a new Canadian record, breaking his own mark. Hayes wore a lifting suit and a lifting belt and utilized lifting straps to help him with his feat.
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In his Instagram post, Hayes wrote that he initially had loftier ambitions with this Axle Deadlift. Hayes had planned to surpass Mexican strongman Gabriel Peña’s World Record Axle Deadlift of 500 kilograms (1,102.3 pounds) from the 2021 Static Monsters Worldwide (SMW) contest.
(Note: Strongmen such as former World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champions like Eddie Hall and Hafthor Björnsson have deadlifted at least 500 kilograms, but Peña is the only athlete to do it on the Axle deadlift variation, which uses a stiffer, thicker bar and is pulled from 18-inches off the floor.)
Unfortunately for Hayes, even with the extension of his Canadian record, his attempt to exceed Peña came at a health cost.
“[The] goal on the day was [Gabriel Peña’s] World Record, loaded up 500.5 kilograms/1,103 pounds,” Hayes wrote. “The strength was there for it, but the body was not. My left sacroiliac joint popped out badly. I couldn’t walk for 30 minutes …bad-bad back injury. [I’m] gonna see how I wake up, but it’s rough.”
At the time of this writing, there is no further word on Hayes’ injury. At least, for his sake, he didn’t leave the session empty-handed without a record.
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It’s been an eventful 2022 for Hayes.
According to Strongman Archives, the athlete took home respective fourth-place results at the 2022 Canada’s Strongest Man (CSM) and the 2022 Shaw Classic (Open portion). In early April 2022, he was in temporary possession of the Silver Dollar deadlift World Record with a pull of 560 kilograms (1,235 pounds) from the 2022 Strongman Corporation Canada King & Queen Of The Throne. (Note: Rauno Heinla is the current record holder with a Silver Dollar pull of 579.7 Kilograms (1,278 Pounds) at the 2022 Silver Dollar Deadlift Estonian Championship.)
Hayes hasn’t alluded to his upcoming plans. Based on his recent precedent, it’ll likely be a milestone or competitive result worth writing home about.
Featured image: @sirseaningtoniii on Instagram
