Ask who the strongest man in the world is and you’ll get a name, usually the man holding the World’s Strongest Man trophy. In 2026 that’s Canada’s Mitchell Hooper. But strength isn’t one thing. The heaviest deadlift, the heaviest powerlifting total and the heaviest weight thrown overhead all belong to other men, and none of them is Hooper.
This is our running answer to the question: four ways to measure strength, who leads each one right now, and our verdict. We update it after every major strength event, starting with this weekend’s Rogue Invitational.
Updated 22 October 2026. Mitchell Hooper holds the biggest titles in strongman: World’s Strongest Man (April) and a fourth straight Arnold (March). This weekend he goes for a fourth straight Rogue Invitational in Aberdeen, against Rayno Nel, the man he beat by two points at World’s Strongest Man.
Next update: after the Rogue strongman final, early on Sunday 25 October (Australian time). Follow the Rogue results.
- World’s Strongest Man: Mitchell Hooper (Canada), 2023 and 2026
- Heaviest deadlift ever: Raúl Flores (Mexico), 511 kg, September 2026
- Heaviest powerlifting total: Colton Engelbrecht (South Africa), 1,225 kg raw, July 2026
- Heaviest clean and jerk (new super-heavyweight class): Alireza Yousefi (Iran), 261 kg, May 2026
- Arnold Strongwoman Classic: Olga Liashchuk (Ukraine), 2026
The case for Mitchell Hooper: strongman tests everything
Strongman is the closest thing to an all-round strength test. A World’s Strongest Man final mixes deadlifts, overhead presses, loaded carries, Atlas stones and throws, so a man with one great lift and a weak link doesn’t win it. Mitchell Hooper won the 2026 title in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in April, his second after 2023. It came down to the last event: defending champion Rayno Nel won three events on day one, and Hooper pulled the gap back with a 209 kg log lift before finishing second on the Atlas stones, with Nel fifth.
| 2026 World’s Strongest Man | Points |
|---|---|
| 1. Mitchell Hooper (Canada) | 54 |
| 2. Rayno Nel (South Africa) | 52 |
| 3. Trey Mitchell (USA) | 36 |
| 4. Pavlo Kordiyaka (Ukraine) | 31.5 |
| 5. Ondřej Fojtů (Czech Republic) | 31.5 |
| 8. Eddie Williams (Australia) | 26 |
He also won the Arnold Strongman Classic in March for the fourth year in a row (Wikipedia), and he has won every Rogue Invitational strongman title since 2023. Australia’s Eddie Williams finished eighth at World’s Strongest Man.
The case against: the margins are tiny. Two points at World’s Strongest Man, one point at the Arnold. Nel won the title in 2025 and led after the first day in 2026.
The case for Raúl Flores: the heaviest deadlift ever
If strength means the most weight lifted off the floor, the answer is a 26-year-old Mexican. On 5 September 2026, at the World Deadlift Championships in Birmingham, England, Raúl Flores deadlifted 511 kg, one kilogram past Hafþór Björnsson’s 510 kg world record, with Björnsson watching (Giants Live). Only Eddie Hall and Björnsson had pulled 500 kg or more in a sanctioned strongman deadlift before him.
It’s a strongman record, lifted with a deadlift suit and straps, which strongman rules allow. That makes it a different lift from a raw powerlifting deadlift. Flores won the deadlift, not the overall title: Björnsson won the Strongman Open in the same arena that weekend.
The case for a powerlifter: the heaviest total
Powerlifting adds a squat, a bench press and a deadlift, with no straps and, in raw competition, no supportive suits or shirts. The heaviest raw total in history belongs to South Africa’s Colton Engelbrecht: 1,225 kg (a 455 kg squat, 277.5 kg bench and 492.5 kg deadlift) at the Nikolai Kagansky Memorial Cup in Moscow on 11 July 2026, weighing 125.3 kg (OpenPowerlifting, Fitness Volt). It beat his own record, set in March, by 70 kg.
The case against: powerlifting tests three slow lifts with a barbell, nothing carried, thrown or held for time. Strongmen would say that’s a test of lifting, not of strength.
The case for a weightlifter: strength at speed
Olympic weightlifting asks a different question: how much can you move from the floor to overhead in one explosive movement? Weight classes changed in 2025, and the first world record in the new super-heavyweight class (over 110 kg) went to Iran’s Alireza Yousefi, who clean and jerked 261 kg at the Asian Championships in Gandhinagar, India, on 17 May 2026 (Indian Weightlifting Federation, Olympic Council of Asia).
Nobody else on this page moves heavy weight that fast. It takes a different kind of strength, built on speed and mobility as much as raw force.
Pound for pound: the strongest for their size
Divide the lift by the lifter and the list changes again. John Haack, from the United States, totalled 1,044 kg raw at the American Pro Invitational in August 2026 weighing 99.1 kg (OpenPowerlifting): about 10.5 times his bodyweight. Lighter lifters often post the biggest ratios. A 17-year-old, Liam Anderson, benched 2.2 times his bodyweight this year.
It’s also where the internet’s favourite strongmen sit. Anatoly, the powerlifter who pranks gyms dressed as a cleaner, is genuinely strong for his size, but his verified numbers are a long way from the men on this page.
The strongest women
Women’s strongman has the same argument. Ukraine’s Olga Liashchuk won the 2026 Arnold Strongwoman Classic with 50.5 points, ahead of Inez Carrasquillo (49) and Angelica Jardine (48.5), her third Arnold title (Fitness Volt). Carrasquillo, from Puerto Rico, has won both Rogue strongwoman titles so far and defends hers in Aberdeen this weekend; Liashchuk is no longer on Rogue’s competitor list.
Our verdict
Our read: Mitchell Hooper is the strongest man in the world right now, because strongman is the broadest test and he keeps winning the biggest ones. But he’s the strongest by the narrowest of margins, and the record lifts belong to specialists: Flores off the floor, Engelbrecht across three lifts, Yousefi overhead.
What would change our answer: Nel beating Hooper at Rogue this weekend or at World’s Strongest Man in 2027, or a specialist like Flores turning into an all-round contender. When it happens, it goes in the box at the top.
What’s next
- Rogue Invitational, 23 to 25 October, Aberdeen: Hooper and Nel in the same field; Carrasquillo defends the strongwoman title. Results and how to watch.
- Arnold Strongman Classic, March 2027: Hooper goes for a fifth straight title.
- World’s Strongest Man 2027: date and venue to be announced.
Strongest man in the world: FAQ
Who is the strongest man in the world in 2026?
Mitchell Hooper of Canada, who won World’s Strongest Man in April 2026, two points ahead of Rayno Nel. He also won the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic.
Who has the heaviest deadlift ever?
Raúl Flores of Mexico, with 511 kg at the World Deadlift Championships in Birmingham on 5 September 2026. It beat Hafþór Björnsson’s 510 kg.
Is Hafþór Björnsson still the strongest man in the world?
He won World’s Strongest Man in 2018 and held the deadlift record until September 2026, when Flores pulled 511 kg. He won the overall Giants Live Strongman Open the same weekend.
Who is the strongest woman in the world?
Olga Liashchuk of Ukraine won the 2026 Arnold Strongwoman Classic, one of the sport’s biggest women’s titles. Inez Carrasquillo has won both Rogue Invitational strongwoman titles.
What’s the difference between strongman and powerlifting?
Powerlifting is three barbell lifts: squat, bench press and deadlift. Strongman mixes lifts with carries, stones, pushes and throws, and allows straps and suits on some lifts.
Update log: 22 October 2026, first published.
