Issue of the day The world’s strongest man
TOM Stoltman from Inve.rgordon has been crowned the world’s strongest man, making him the first Scot to hold the coveted title.
What, when – and why?
The World’s Strongest Man (WSM) is an annual strongman competition which has existed in some form or other since it was first held in 1977. It was first developed for American television network CBS by Scots David Webster and Douglas Edmunds, the latter a Highland Games whizz who twice won the World Caber Championship. Stoltman, 27, triumphed over four-time winner Brian Shaw of the USA at an event in Sacramento California on Sunday. He’s the first Scot to win the title and one of only five Britons to have lifted the trophy. Iconic Olympian Geoff
Capes won it twice in the 1980s followed by Jamie Reeves and Gary Taylor, who won in 1993 and 1989 respectively. Eddie Hall was the victor in 2017.
What about the how?
That’s the really jaw-dropping bit. Stoltman stands at 6ft 8in and is what rugby commentators like to call “a big unit”. But even his size and strength are tested to the limit by the feats of endurance competitors are asked to undertake.
Such as?
Such as the Keg Toss, in which competitors have to throw kegs of increasing weight over a 14 foot bar, the Car Carry (kind of obvious really) and the Atlas Stones, in which five stones have to be lifted and placed on a platform.
Typically they weigh around 150kg though Stoltman’s personal record is 286kg. To put that in context, 150kg is about two and bit Billy Gilmours, while 286kg is the weight of a baby grand piano. Other events have such names as Fingal’s Fingers, Conan’s Wheel and Norse Hammers.
Aren’t they Scandinavian metal bands?
They do sound like it, though perhaps there’s a reason – the Northern Europeans are passionate about the World’s Strongest Man and have an excellent record in the competition. Norwegian strongman Svend Viking Karlsen won in 2001 ending a five year spell dominated by Finns and Swedes, and between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s Icelanders Jon Pall Sigmarsson and Magnus Ver Magnusson racked up eight wins between them. More recently competitors from Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania have come to the fore.
Stoltman must be pleased Probably, though it’s a little hard to tell from the image posted by the WSM organisers after his victory. It shows him in typically heroic pose, tattooed forearms crossed purposefully as he stares off into the middle distance. Rangers FC, Stoltman’s favourite football team, are absolutely delighted, however. “Congratulations to The World’s Strongest Man from the World’s Most Successful club,” they tweeted alongside an image of him in a Rangers top. Size: XL.