Rauno Heinla (born 7 June 1982) is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n professional

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

competitor. He is a specialist in the

deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

events and is regarded as one of the best deadlifters in the world.

Strongman career

Born in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, Estonia, Rauno started his Strongman career in 2000 in the local strongman competition Kõrveküla rammumees. He won his first national title by winning the Estonia's Strongest Man competition in 2008. He's the only Estonian to win this title 6 times following in the footsteps of Tarmo Mitt and

Andrus Murumets Andrus Murumets (born 20 July 1978) is an Estonian strongman and entrant to the World's Strongest Man contest. He reached 5th in the World Rankings according to the IFSA rankings in 2008. Andrus competed in the IFSA World Championships in 2005 ...

(who both won 5 times each). For most of his career, Rauno trained with fellow Estonian Strongman Lauri Nämi. Rauno identifies heavy stones and deadlift for reps as his favourite events, and also recognizes that he needs to improve his truck pulls and super yokes. In his career spanning 22 years, Rauno has competed in over 45 international competitions and 8 single event contests. On September 13, 2020, Rauno broke the 400 kg

Deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

(standard bar) for repetitions world record with 6 reps under

World's Ultimate Strongman World's Ultimate Strongman was an annual strongman competition which was held from 2018 to 2021 with the participation of top strongmen from all over the world, determining who is the strongest man in the world. The event was noted for its brut ...

Feats of Strength series. Along with

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (; transliterated as Hafthor in English; born 26 November 1988) is an Icelandic professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person t ...

and Eddie Hall, Rauno is also one of only a handful of men who has deadlifted 1,000 lbs (453.5 kg) or more, quite a few times. He has done it both in conventional and sumo variations. On December 3, 2023, Rauno participated in the Official Strongman Games 40s class, and won his first Masters title, adding to 2nd place finish he earned in 2022.

Personal records

(with suit and straps) – (2022 Giants Live World Open) (Masters World Record) :→ ''Rauno has also done a Sumo deadlift of (with suit and straps) during training''. *

Elephant bar The elephant bar is a barbell developed by Rogue Fitness which is specifically used for the strongman raw deadlift. It was first created in 2016 by Terry Todd, the director of the Arnold Strongman Classic. The bar is known for being long and ma ...

(Raw w/ straps) – (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) *

(for reps) (with suit and straps) – x 6 reps (

) ( Feats of Strength series, 2020) (World Record) :→ ''Rauno has also done this twice more during training''. *Axle bar Deadlift with globes (for reps) (with suit and straps) – x 9 reps (2021 Europe's Strongest Man) (World Record) *Stiff bar

(Raw w/ straps) (for reps) – x 9 reps (2024 Arnold UK) *Silver Dollar Deadlift (18 inches from the floor) – (World Record) * Squat – ''Raw'', x 10 reps *

Bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

– ''Raw'' *Log press – , x 4 reps *Axle press – x 2 reps *Block press – (2014 Savickas Classic) * Max Atlas stone – as a part of a 5 stone run (2017 Arnold Australia) * Atlas Stones – 6 stone set () in 32.98 seconds (2014 SCL Estonia) (World Record) * Atlas Stones – 5 stone set () in 21.20 seconds (2021 Europe's Strongest Man) * Atlas Stone over bar – x 8 reps over a 4 ft 3 in (51 in) bar (2014 SCL Savickas Classic) (World Record) *

Húsafell Stone The Húsafell Stone is a legendary lifting stone weighing 186 kg (410 lb) located in a west country farming estate in Húsafell, Iceland about northeast of Reykjavík. The slightly triangular, slab shaped stone is kept at a Pen (enclos ...

– for (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Bankier sack carry – for (2019 Arnold USA) (Joint-World Record) * Arm over arm sled pull – for 25m course in 12.67 seconds (2019 Arnold South America) (World Record)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinla, Rauno 1982 births Estonian strength athletes Sportspeople from Tartu Living people