Lars Gunnar Hedlund
January 24, 1949 – June 4, 2016
Lars Gunnar Hedlund, better known as Lasse Hedlund, was born and raised in Örebro, Sweden. He started sports at an early age and soon discovered strength sports. He began with Olympic weightlifting and won several youth and junior titles. He also broke multiple national junior records in weightlifting.
Lars developed tremendous pressing strength early on. At just 20 years old, he bench pressed 220 kg / 485 lbs, a lift that, even more than 56 years later, no one in Sweden has matched.
When the Swedish national championships in powerlifting were introduced in 1970, Lasse competed in the super heavyweight class. He lifted 212.5 kg / 468 lbs in the bench press, 250 kg / 551 lbs in the squat, and 260 kg / 573 lbs in the deadlift. With a total of 722.5 kg / 1,593 lbs, he won his first national championship in powerlifting. During the 1970s, Lasse competed frequently and became a well-established strongman.
With his enormous bench press capacity, he began chasing the world record at the 1977 World Powerlifting Championships. The record then stood at 275.5 kg / 607 lbs, held by Don Reinhoudt. Lasse missed his attempt that year but managed 260 kg / 573 lbs at a bodyweight of 137.3 kg / 303 lbs, nearly 25 kg / 55 lbs lighter than the record holder.
After many attempts around the world, he finally broke the record. On June 21, 1979, he surpassed Doug Young’s record with 278 kg / 613 lbs. Shortly after, Bill Kazmaier broke the record at the 1979 World Championships, where both Bill and Lasse made record attempts. Lasse reclaimed the record at the “Battle of the Giants” (Giganternas kamp) in 1980 with 285 kg / 628 lbs.
Lasse consistently placed high in powerlifting, winning several national and Nordic titles and setting records. He also won the European Championships in 1979 and finished third at both the World Championships and the Hawaii International Powerlifting Championships.
At the second edition of the World’s Strongest Man, Lasse was invited and finished third behind Bruce Wilhelm and Don Reinhoudt. The following year, he competed again, this time alongside Bill Kazmaier and Reinhoudt. He placed second, once again behind Don but ahead of Kazmaier. In 1980, he entered the competition for the third time. Stronger than ever, he was nevertheless defeated by Kazmaier, who went on to win three consecutive titles.
Shortly thereafter, Lasse’s career ended tragically. At the Nordic Championships in Drammen, Norway, in September 1980, both his knees gave out during an attempt with 382.5 kg / 843 lbs in the squat. He was said to have been somewhat careless with preparation and warm-up. When he went down with the weight, his knees collapsed at the bottom position. He was rushed back to Örebro for emergency surgery. After this injury, Lasse never returned to competitive lifting.
Even though he never competed again after the knee injury, Lasse remained active in strength sports, especially as a coach in powerlifting. His bench press strength did not diminish with age. He continued training while serving as a career military officer. Many witnesses reported seeing him bench press 300 kg / 661 lbs for repetitions, and several sources claim he performed sets of ten with 280 kg / 617 lbs. By then, he weighed more than during his competitive years, up to 170 kg / 375 lbs compared to his competition weight of around 140 kg / 308 lbs.
Before the 1991 World Powerlifting Championships in his hometown of Örebro, where he was to serve as an award presenter, he gained weight so as not to appear small next to the other super heavyweights. At that time, there was probably no one in the world stronger than Lasse in the bench press. His interest in competing, however, was gone, even though he received an invitation to the Bench Press World Championships in Finland in 1994.
Lasse’s Best Official Lifts
Powerlifting
- Class +110 kg / +242 lbs
- Squat: 380 kg / 837 lbs
- Bench Press: 285 kg / 628 lbs (300 kg / 661 lbs in exhibition with referees)
- Deadlift: 345 kg / 760 lbs
- Total: 967.5 kg / 2,132 lbs (1,000 kg / 2,204 lbs not officially recognized)*
Weightlifting
- Class +110 kg / +242 lbs
- Snatch: 135 kg / 298 lbs
- Press: 170 kg / 375 lbs
- Clean & Jerk: 165 kg / 364 lbs
- Total: 465 kg / 1,025 lbs
Supportive Gear
In the squat and deadlift, Lasse used the first generation of suits and wraps. Knee wraps had by then evolved beyond simple bandages and were made of slightly stiffer material. In the bench press, nothing other than a t-shirt was allowed, but Lasse always competed bare-chested.
You can read more about supportive powerlifting gear here.
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