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

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. These ...

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 Decem ...

and International Federation of Strength Athletes (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 Eddie Hall, Terry Hollands, and former competitor Glenn Ross and John Ryan Cappalahan respectively 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

''See also Highland games and Britain's Strongest Man for more details'' 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, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

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 her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

attended the Braemar 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, Britain's Strongest Youth at 16, and the first official Britain's Strongest Man 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. H ...

, Launceston Elliot, 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 and weightlifter. He portrayed Darth Vader (voiced by American actor James Earl Jones) in the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy and a manservant in Stanle ...

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 ...

, the first man to do so since

Donald Dinnie Donald Dinnie (10 July 1837 – 2 April 1916) was a Scottish strongman, born at Balnacraig, Birse, near Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. Sometimes regarded as "The Nineteenth Century's greatest athlete", Dinnie's athletic car ...

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

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the ...

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

. In the late 1970s, televised strongman competitions began with Britain's Strongest Man (BSM) first being shown in 1979 by the

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

field athletics Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping e ...

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

and

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift eff ...

. These competitions fed other international competitions such as

Europe's Strongest Man Europe's Strongest Man is an annual strength athletics competition which began in 1980. The event is held in various locations throughout Europe, and features exclusively European strongman competitors. Mariusz Pudzianowski holds the record for ...

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

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 was also a former strongman competitor and winner of Britain's Strongest ...

Mark Felix Mark Felix (born 17 April 1966) is a Grenadian-English strongman (strength athlete), strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition. He has competed at a record 17 World's Strongest Man contests, reaching the ...

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. Shahlaei is a winner of England's Strongest Man, Britain's St ...

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 Britain's Strongest Man multi-year champion Glenn Ross 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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the 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 and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

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

* Britain's Strongest Man *

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

* 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 Britain's Strongest Man, 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 and

compete thus reinforcing its credentials. The UKSC did have every other recognised athlete including BSM 2008 champion Jimmy Marku. There were athletes that competed in both, such as

Mark Westaby Mark Westaby (born 17 April 1965) is a British strongman competitor, notable for being a repeat competitor at the World's Strongest Man. Biography Julian Mark Westaby was born in 1965 in Healaugh, near Tadcaster. He attended Tadcaster Gra ...

. 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 Strength athletics in the United Kingdom and Ireland has a long history going back many centuries before the televisation of strongman competitions in the 1970s. The ancient heritage of the sport in the United Kingdom and Ireland lies in a numbe ...

events promoter Richard Foster from STROM and sponsors First Protein, Ultimate Strongman Glenn Ross creator of UK's Strongest Man, British Strongman a forum run for the strongman community, worked together top bring

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, Landrover 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 *Mighty Midlander *Corby Great Strength Eccleston *East Britain Strongest Man *North of England Strongest Man *Yorkshire's Strongest Man

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strength Athletics in the United Kingdom And Ireland 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Competitions in the United Kingdom Competitions in Ireland