Australian Strongman Smashes World Record by Pulling 44,753-Pound Crane

Jordan “Biggie” Steffens continues to build upon his impressive resume.

Written by Stephen Sheehan, CPT Last updated on October 2, 2023

Two years after Canadian strongman Kevin Fast captivated a live television audience by pulling a 28,850-pound New York City public bus down Manhattan’s West 67th Street, Australian standout Jordan “Biggie” Steffens has officially made that historic achievement look rather ordinary. On Sept. 28, 2023, Guinness World Records announced that Steffens broke the record for the heaviest vehicle pulled with the upper body.

No stranger to showcasing his rare strength and power, the 33-year-old didn’t just edge out Fast, either. Instead, Steffens raised the bar significantly by successfully pulling a 44,753-pound hydraulic crane a distance of 16.4 feet to set the new world record.

A native of Adelaide, South Australia, Steffens smashed the previous mark by 15,903 pounds (7,213 kilograms) after spending six months specifically preparing for the event. Because Guinness World Records rules stipulate that a challenger must be in a seated position, he focused his training efforts on his back and arm muscles.

Steffens has spent quite a bit of time working on developing upper-body strength and endurance over the last few years. After all, he had to overcome a ruptured left biceps in 2019 that required 12 weeks of surgery and rehab. The strength coach and decorated strongman competitor suffered the same injury in his right biceps in 2021, which forced him to “start at square one and rebuild” yet again.

Thanks to a support network of healthcare professionals, Steffens put himself on a path to pull off the record-setting feat. And as if doing it once wasn’t enough, he performed the stunt again at the 2023 Royal Adelaide Show, raising just over $25,000 for the Starlight Children’s Foundation by pulling a giant purple crane aptly named “Barney.”