TOM STOLTMAN IS once again the World’s Strongest Man.
The 29-year-old Scot took back his SBD World’s Strongest Man title from Canadian Mitchell Hooper, who just edged out Stoltman for the top spot in 2023. The pair switched places for the 2024 contest, which was staged from May 1 to 5 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Stoltman, representing Great Britain, won the hallowed strength sport championship for the third time with 53 points. Hooper was the runner up with 47.5 points, and the USA’s Evan Singleton rounded out the podium with 36 points. Stoltman won his first pair of titles in back-to-back victories in 2021 and 2022.
“I wasn’t going home without [the win] this year. Winning the title is special every time you win it, but to come back from losing it and to win it is extra special,” Stoltman said following the event. “I shocked myself getting the lead after the first day. I wasn’t favored to win three events so to come out on top for all three was a surprise. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day, but I think it came down to who wanted it most, and this year, I wanted it most.”
COURTESY OF WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN
Stoltman took the lead after the qualifying rounds of the competition and came out on top at end, with his strong performances across all six of the Final events cementing the win. He only took first in a single event—his specialty and the final event of the competition, the Atlas Stones – but finished in the top three for all the others. Notably, Stoltman, Hooper, and Canadian Wesley Derwinsky finished tied with a new world record of 7.76 meters in the Keg Toss, the final event of the penultimate day of competition. That broke a standard held by four-time champ Brian Shaw, who officially retired from competitive Strongman last year.
Stoltman positions himself as one of the all-time great World’s Strongest Man competitors with his third title in four years; he’s the first athlete from Great Britain to win three times. He and Hooper have emerged in the last few years as the top athletes in the sport, also sharing the podium at the Arnold Strongman Classic event (which Hooper won in 2023 and 2024). Both athletes are under 30 (Hooper is 28), which should position them – and fans of strength sports – for more tight battles for years to come.
via Men’s Health US
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