Rob Kearney is a retired American professional

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 ...

competitor. He won the

Giants Live Giants Live is a professional strongman tour which was originated in the United Kingdom. It hosts several prominent competitions each year, including national competitions such as Britain's Strongest Man, international competitions such as Eur ...

North American Open in 2017 and the Arnold International World Series Australia in 2019. He is also a four time qualifier for the

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 ...

competition, and a three time participant in the

Arnold Strongman Classic The Arnold Strongman Classic is an annual competition featuring strength athletes from all over the world, determining who is the Strongest Man in the World. Created by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Lorimer and Terry Todd, it is an offshoot of t ...

. He is also a two-time American log lift record holder, with a competition best of 476 lbs (216 kg) in 2020. Kearney retired after the 2024 World's Strongest Man in May 2024.

Career

Kearney was part of the cheer-leading team in high school, He started training in

CrossFit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...

in 2009 at the age of 17 while at school, but found that he was better at heavy lifting, and could

deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

506 lbs the first time he tried it. Within a few months, he competed in his first strongman competition. He joined a

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 ...

team at college and competed as a powerlifter. When he was 21, Kearney won the 2013 North American Strongman National Championship, and turned professional. He was placed 2nd at 105kg America's Strongest Man in 2014 and 2015. He won the Log Lift World Championships with a lift of 445.5lbs in 2016. Later in 2020, he broke the log lift record with a 475.75 lbs lift. He also once held the 105kg Pro American Record in the Yoke Walk. Kearney first qualified for the

competition in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

but was eliminated in the heats. He had a major success the same year when he won the 2017

North American Open held on July 29, 2017, in

Martinsville, Indiana Martinsville is a city in Washington Township, Morgan County, Indiana, United States. The population was 14,980 at the 2020 United States census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County. History Martinsville was founded in 1822. It is said ...

. Kearney also qualified for the

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2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

World's Strongest Man competitions. In 2019, Kearney won the Arnold Australia Strongman event held in Melbourne, Australia. Kearney qualified for the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, finishing in joint 6th place. He also competed in

and

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, and achieved his best result with a 5th place finish in 2022. Kearney, at 5 feet 10 inches and weighing under 300 pounds, is one of the smaller competitors in strongman competitions. But in 2020, Kearney was award the title “Pound for Pound Strongest Man in the World” by Official Strongman. Kearney took part in the 2021 and 2022

Rogue Invitational The Rogue Invitational is an annual sporting event that includes a CrossFit competition and a Strongman competition. The event, organized by Rogue, started in 2019 as a CrossFit sanctioned competition, but has since become a major competition ...

, finishing in 6th and 8th place respectively. He was placed third at the

America's Strongest Man Strength athletics in the United States refers to the various strongman competitions organized throughout United States and North America with the elements of all of strength athletics taken into account. United States has held a preeminent positio ...

competition in 2023. Kearney competed for the last time at the 2024 World's Strongest Man, and retired after the competition.

Personal records

Deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

''(with suit and straps)'' – (2019 World Deadlift Championships) *

Elephant bar The elephant bar is a barbell developed by Rogue Fitness which is specifically used for the strongman raw deadlift. It was first created in 2016 by Terry Todd, the director of the Arnold Strongman Classic. The bar is known for being long and ma ...

''(Raw with straps)'' – (2020 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Double T Squat ''(with suit)'' – (2022 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Log press – (2020 World's Ultimate Strongman - Feats of Strength series) (Former American Record) :→ ''Kearney has also done during training''. * Axle press – (2023 America's Strongest Man) * Manhood Stone (Max Atlas Stone) – over 4 ft bar ''(during training)'' * Inver Stone press – (2020 Arnold Strongman Classic) (Joint-World Record)

Other works

In 2022,

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published ''Strong'', a children's picture book about Kearney's journey and identity. The book was the result of a collaboration with author and LGBTQ+ activist Eric Rosswood. Kearney was a coach at HWPO Training where he was responsible for its strength training program.

Personal life

Kearney is the first openly gay professional strongman, calling himself the "world's strongest gay". He came out as gay in 2014. He lives near

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

with his husband Joey, whom he married in 2019. Kearney was diagnosed with

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an c ...

in 2021, for which he underwent surgery. He also suffered a ruptured triceps tendon in 2020 while attempting a new world record in log lift on World's Ultimate Strongman, which forced him to withdraw from the 2020 World Strongest Man. Kearney was an ambassador for fitness clothing brand

Gymshark Gymshark Ltd is a British multinational athletic apparel retailer headquartered in Solihull, England. Founded in June 2012 by Ben Francis and Lewis Morgan, the company was initially focused on selling fitness supplements, before distributing its ...

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearney, Rob American strength athletes American gay sportsmen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people