British personal trainer Daniel Mulligan has achieved an extraordinary feat of strength and endurance, deadlifting a cumulative 822,242 kg (1,812,733 lb) within 24 hours to set a World Records title.

The 32-year-old fitness enthusiast achieved the record for the most weight deadlifted in 24 hours (male) in December, surpassing the previous benchmark by a huge margin.

To put Mulligan’s achievement into perspective, Rio de Janeiro’s famous Christ the Redeemer statue weighs approximately 635,000 kg (1.4 million lb). Mulligan’s cumulative total of 822,242 kg was therefore considerably heavier than the iconic Brazilian monument. He also comfortably surpassed the previous record of 580,220 kg (1,279,166 lb), which had been set by fellow Briton Nick Riding in 2022.

Mulligan spent around five months training for the gruelling 24-hour challenge. His preparation tested both his physical strength and endurance, with blistered hands and a small hernia among the difficulties he faced along the way. Despite the challenges, he continued preparing for the attempt and worked extensively on refining his deadlifting technique.

The challenge had a purpose beyond securing a place in the record books. Mulligan was motivated to undertake the extraordinary feat after a friend was diagnosed with cancer. He wanted to use his physical abilities to take on a challenge significant enough to encourage people to make charitable donations. Mulligan said that being able to voluntarily push his body to its limits was something he valued, particularly because many people facing serious illnesses or disabilities do not have a choice about the physical challenges they experience.

Mulligan’s record required far more than the ability to perform a single heavy deadlift. Maintaining the effort over an entire 24-hour period demanded exceptional endurance, consistency and mental resilience. By accumulating 822,242 kg of deadlifted weight in one day, Mulligan not only broke the existing World Records benchmark but also turned his long-held ambition of becoming a world-record holder into a fundraising challenge inspired by a deeply personal cause.