Strength athletics in the United Kingdom and Ireland has a long history going back many centuries before the televisation of

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 ...

competitions in the 1970s. The ancient heritage of the sport in the United Kingdom and Ireland lies in a number of traditional events, the most famous of which is arguably the traditional Highland Games, which itself is a source of many events now practised in modern strongman competitions, such as

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decemb ...

and

International Federation of Strength Athletes The International Federation of Strength Athletes (IFSA or IFSA Strongman) was an international governing body for strongman competition. IFSA operated from 1995 to 2007 and was based in Glasgow, Scotland. History Origins In 1995, David Webst ...

(IFSA) sponsored events. However, the traditional events still are popularly contested events today. In the more modern phenomenon that is the World's Strongest Man and its associated competitions, the United Kingdom and Ireland remain well represented with

Glenn Ross Glenn Ross (born 27 May 1971) known by his nickname "The Daddy", is a Northern Ireland former international strongman and powerlifter who has represented Northern Ireland and the UK in several World's Strongest Man competitions and various Worl ...

Terry Hollands Terry Hollands (born 6 June 1979) is a British bodybuilder and the winner of the 2bros Pro Luke Sandoe Classic Beginners Class 2019 bodybuilding championships. Hollands is also a retired strongman competitor and a past winner of England's Str ...

Eddie Hall Edward Stephen Hall (born 15 January 1988) is an English media personality, retired strongman, and current mixed martial artist. He is best known for his then world-record setting deadlift. He is also known for winning 2017 World's Strongest ...

and John Ryan Cappalahan, with regular appearances at world finals, and with three men having won the title of World's Strongest Man, as well as Shane Davis Cappalahan appearing in eight final events.

History

The origin of strength athletics in the UK and Ireland lies in the realms of pre-history, but the within the British Isles records many centuries old record more formally the existence of organised events. Formalisation and annual Highland gatherings began around 1820 when Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

encouraged the revival of Highland Culture. By 1848, such was the status of such games that

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

attended the

Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee, sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' p ...

Highland Games. The strongmen of the world of weightlifting and circus acts were also active in the UK and Ireland in the Victorian age. A number of famous names emerged at the turn of the nineteenth century.

Thomas Inch Thomas Inch (27 December 1881 – 12 December 1963) was a British Strongman, who held the titles of Britain's Strongest Youth, Britain's Strong Man and the originator of the Thomas Inch dumbbell challenge. Early life Inch was born on 27 ...

, Britain's Strongest Youth at 16, and the first official

Britain's Strongest Man Britain's Strongest Man is an annual strongman event held in the United Kingdom. Competitors qualify for the final through regional heats and the winner is awarded the title of "Britain's Strongest Man". The competition is produced by TWI and ...

was active at this time and is still remembered today for his Grip Strength. and his Challenge Dumbbell, known as the Inch Dumbbell, that "has defied thousands of strong men over the last hundred years...Many a strength athlete tried but failed to break it off the ground.". Other notable names in this genre were

Bert Assirati Bartolomeo "Bert" Assirati (9 July 1908 – 31 August 1990), was an English professional wrestler who became a multiple-time British Heavyweight Champion, and, posthumously, a charter member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. ...

Launceston Elliot Launceston Elliot (9 June 1874 – 8 August 1930) was a British weightlifter, and the first athlete representing the United Kingdom to become an Olympic champion. Biography Launceston Elliot was conceived in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia ...

, Edward Aston, and William Pullum. Others emerged in the twentieth century as well. Notably,

David Prowse David Charles Prowse (1 July 1935 – 28 November 2020) was an English actor, bodybuilder, strongman and weightlifter. He portrayed Darth Vader in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy and a manservant in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film '' A Clockw ...

was initially famous in 1964 for his lifting the famed

Dinnie Stones The Dinnie Stones (also called Stanes or Steens) are a pair of Scottish lifting stones located in Potarch, Aberdeenshire. They were made famous by strongman Donald Dinnie, who reportedly carried the stones barehanded across the width of the Pot ...

, the first man to do so since

Donald Dinnie Donald Dinnie (10 July 1837 – 2 April 1916) was a Scottish strongman, wrestler, and multi-sport athlete, born at Balnacraig, Birse, near Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. Sometimes regarded as "The Nineteenth Century's greates ...

himself a century earlier. Prowse later became more famous still for playing

Darth Vader Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

. In the late 1970s, televised strongman competitions began with

(BSM) first being shown in 1979 by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. A new generation emerged, with the events attracting individuals from many disciplines such as field athletics,

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

and

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

. These competitions fed other international competitions such as Europe's Strongest Man and

. Household names, such as Geoff Capes,

Jamie Reeves Jamie Reeves (born 3 May 1962)David Webster, ''Sons of Samson Volume 2 Profiles'', page 103 (Ironmind Enterprises), is a British former coal miner, strongman and professional wrestler. As a strongman, he won the 1989 World's Strongest Man, w ...

and Gary Taylor dominated, with these three in particular going on to win World's Strongest Man titles. The modern era has seen this trend continue with

Mark Felix Mark Felix (born 17 April 1966) is a Grenadian-English retired strongman competitor. He has competed at a record 18 World's Strongest Man contests, reaching the finals three times. He is the winner of the 2015 Ultimate Strongman Masters World C ...

and

Laurence Shahlaei Laurence Cristiaan David Shahlaei (born 25 December 1982) is an English YouTuber, strength sports commentator, analyst, coach, and a retired strongman and powerlifting competitor. He is most noted for winning the 2016 Europe's Strongest Man co ...

being regular faces at World's Strongest Man and its associated Super Series. Featured events in these contests have been tailored to emphasize a more well-rounded athlete, to reflect that viewpoint on strongman as a whole, and in the interests of increased popularity and marketability among the masses. Almost inevitably, more than one interested party has seen the benefits of strength competitions. Alternative organizations have formed in recent years, comprising a new wave of influence in the field, with the United Kingdom Strength Council (UKSC) founded by

multi-year champion

setting up events separate from BSM, as has the IFSA. Ross and his UK Strongest Man competitions hold a philosophical difference in approach with the

related venues, including more brute strength events similar to traditional strongman and powerlifting, with less emphasis on field athleticism and endurance. Alongside these current interpretations still exists the traditional, such as the Highland Games. Although exported around the world they remain inextricably linked with the heritage of both

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

as a whole.

Competitions

Across the UK and Ireland there are and have been many competitions testing individuals strength, ranging from local to regional to national to pan-British Isles.

List of Champions

2020s

2010s

2000s

1990s

1979 and 1980s

Pan-British Isles

* British Championships (IFSA) * UK Strongest Man

Britain's Strongest Man

British Championships (IFSA)

UK Strongest Man

Others

=UK Championship (IFSA)

=Britain's Most Powerful Man

=UK Strongman Docklands Challenge

=British Muscle Power Championship

Team Competitions

Truck Pulling

*UK Truck Pulling Championships – (Mercedes Benz) *National Truck Pulling Championships – (ASA/Bristol Street Motors) *British Truck Pulling Championships – (Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC)

National and Regional

England's Strongest Man

There have been a number of competitions laying claim to be able to confer this title. The UKSC version, which acts as a qualifier for the UK Strongest Man competition, is generally regarded as the official version. For this reason, the UKSC results since they took over the running of the competition are presented below simply as a continuation of the former year's official event. In 2005, the IFSA introduced their own version of the championships which only lasted for one year. In 2009, with the apparent demise of

, a traditional qualifier for

, Colin Bryce promoted a competition held at the Doncaster Dome that also acted as a WSM qualifier. The latter saw

Darren Sadler Darren Sadler (born 22 March 1980) is a British former strongman (strength athlete), strongman competitor, winner of the World Strongman Challenge in the under 105 kg category, and notable for being a repeat competitor ...

and

compete thus reinforcing its credentials. The UKSC did have every other recognised athlete including BSM 2008 champion

Jimmy Marku Jimmy Marku (Albanian: ''Xhimi Marku''; born 27 August 1974) is an Albanian-born British strongman competitor. Early life Jimmy Marku was born 27 August 1974 in Lac, Albania. He then moved to England where he pursued his strongman career. Stro ...

. There were athletes that competed in both, such as Mark Westaby. Until 2010, Bob Daglish's Elite strongman promotions was inextricably associated with the UKSC and the UKSC version of England's Strongest Man was also the Elite Strongman Promotions event. However, it was announced in March 2010 that "In view of recent events and also some personal differences, Elite Strongman Promotions are hereby separating all affiliations with Big G promotions, the UK Strength Council and the UK strongest man competition." Elite Strongman promotions continued to run a version of the England's strongest man final, whilst a separate competition run by UKSC was also run in 2010.

Scotland's Strongest Man

Wales' Strongest Man

2013 saw the first ever televised event for Wales' Strongest Man taken place at Haven Prestahaven Sands in Prestatyn North Wales as detailed here. Unlike other Wales' Strongest Man events promoter Richard Foster from STROM and sponsors First Protein, Ultimate Strongman

creator of UK's Strongest Man, British Strongman a forum run for the strongman community, worked together top bring Wales' Strongest Man into the public eye. Supported by the VXG Strongman Team with Ricky Perkins refereeing the event alongside Les Wiltshire representing Superior Strongman. This years prizes included USN Supplements, Land Rover Driving experience and off course recognition for SImon JohnstonSimon Johnston
/ref> in retaining the title for a second year along with the top 3 finishers awarded a place at the UK's Strongest Man Masters tour.

Ireland's Strongest Man

Northern Ireland (Ulster) Strongest Man/Ulster's Strongest Man

Republic of Ireland's Strongest Man

Other Regional

*CNP Professional Strongman Premier League *Midland's Strongest Man *Mighty Midlander *Corby Great Strength Eccleston *East Britain Strongest Man *North of England Strongest Man *Yorkshire's Strongest Man

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:United Kingdom's Strongest Man Strongmen competitions National strongmen competitions

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Competitions in the United Kingdom Competitions in Ireland