Yes, it’s that time of year again! World’s Strongest Man! Sure, I’m a little late with these Giants Live posts, but I’ll catch up over the next couple of days and be ready for daily posts of the Heats and Final as their air!
Giants Live 1 – Britain’s Strongest Man
Time to find out who is the strongest man in Britain for 2018! Will Eddie Hall, the current WORLD’S strongest man, and reigning 4 time Britain’s Strongest Man keep hold of his title? Or will injuries prevent him from taking a record 5th title? We’ll just have to wait and see!
Lets take a look at the competitors for this year’s competition:
- Eddie Hall (England) – World’s Strongest Man 2018 & 4 x Britain’s Strongest Man (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
- Graham Hicks (England) – 3rd place Britain’s Strongest Man 2017
- Luke Stoltman (Scotland) – 4 x Scotland’s Strongest Man
- Daniel Mc Elroy (Ireland) – All Ireland Championships winner 2017
- Tom Stoltman (Scotland) – 2nd place Scotland’s Strongest Man 2017
- Ken Nowicki (Scotland) – 5th place Giant’s Live USA 2017
- Ben Brunning (Wales) – Wale’s Strongest Man 2017
- Paul Smith (England) – 8th place Britain’s Strongest Man 2017
- Aaron Page (England) – 2nd Britain’s Strongest Man appearance)
- Mark Steele (England) – 6th place Britain’s Strongest Man 2017
- Mark Felix (England) – 2nd place Britain’s Strongest Man 2015 & 2016
- Adam Bishop (England) – 2x World’s Strongest Man Qualifier
- Terry Hollands (England) – 2 x 3rd World’s Strongest Man (2007 & 2011), Britian’s Strongest Man 2007, 3rd place Europe’s Strongest Man 2017
A fantastic list of athletes gunning for this year’s title! Hall will obviously be the favourite, but injuries sustained over the last year could allow the veteran Terry Hollands take back his title from all the way back in 2007, or one of the more up and coming strongmen such as Adam Bishop or Graham Hicks!
Event 1 – Log Medley
5 logs ranging from 120kg to 200kg must be pressed overhead within a 90 second time limit. While a couple of men here today are capable of lifting 200kg, having to lift 4 other logs before it in quick succession means the odds of anyone lifting all 5 are slim to none, with the exception of THE BEAST Eddie Hall! Terry Hollands is up first, and Terry looks to have lost a LOT of weight and should be fitter than ever. However, overhead pressing has never been one of his good events, so sadly I don’t see him finishing well here at all. The first 2 logs go up easy enough, but that 160kg log is too much for Terry, causing him to fall over. Luckily he just cramped up and is fine. Terry would have wanted that 3rd lift, but instead he’ll have to settle for 2 which won’t be good for him. A handful of strongmen have been and gone now, with Luke Stoltman in the lead with 3 in the fasted time so far. Graham Hicks is next and he is one of the best log lifters in the WORLD, and will be the only man to challenge Eddie Hall in this event. He and Eddie currently co-hold the British record in the log lift. 160KG goes up in the fasted time so far, but Hicks knows he’ll need to keep on going with Eddie still to come. #4 goes up fairly easy, but that 5th 200kg log proves just too much after already lifting the other logs. Still, 4 in 38.53 seconds is an excellent time! Hall is last out, and again is the favourite here but those injuries could slow him down… at least you’d think that! He throws the first 3 up in the air like they were nothing! Number 4 goes up easy and in a faster time than Hicks, so Eddie stops there to save himself for the rest of the competition!
Event 2 – Car Deadlift
350kg car must be deadlifted as many times as possible in 60 seconds! Another event that Eddie will be favoured to win, given the fact he’s the record holder for deadlift. However, Mark Felix is one of the best ever at deadlift reps too, and has rarely been beaten! Adam Bishop and Mark Felix are currently tied for first place with 14 reps. An impressive number at this weight for sure! Now we get to see Graham Hicks and Eddie Hall go, and these two men know what they need to get good points. Not even the hip injury he sustained a few months prior to the event can stop Hall, and a 15th rep places his into the lead while Hicks has to settle for 14 and a share of the points with 2 other men.
Event 3 – Super Yoke
1000lbs to be picked up and carried down a 20m course. Easy! Numerous en have been so far, with Like Stoltman in 1st place at the moment coming in at just under 12 seconds! Can Tom Stoltman out-do his brother? Can Mark Steele? Yes! Well, one of them anyway! Mark Steele with 11.15 seconds and that puts him currently in 1st place! Aaron Page and Terry Hollands will try to beat that now. Once upon a time Terry Hollands was one of the best in the world at this, and he looks to be in top form once again with 10.24 seconds! Anyone who can beat that time truly deserves to win the event! Bishop and Felix will try to challenge that incredible time now. 10.25 seconds for Bishop as he JUST misses out on beating Terry! Felix does enough for 3rd place atm as well! And now its Hicks Vs Hall! Hall looks to be in a lot of pain and even drops it just before the line. Hicks meanwhile makes Holland’s time look SLOW in comparison! 8.61 seconds and the first event win for Graham! Despite being in pain and even dropping the yoke, Eddie still manages a second place finish with 10.02! Amazing!
Lets have a quick look at the overall points so far as we reach the halfway mark:
Eddie Hall is sitting on top after 2 wins and 1 second place, but Hicks is only 2 points behind now. Will Eddie’s hip injury and the strain from the Super Yoke slow him down for the rest of the competition?
Event 4 – Loading Race
2 sacks at 125kg, 2 barrels at 135kg, and a tire at 115kg must be lifted and run down the course and placed in a skip as fast as possible! This will tire the strongmen out for sure, and some might not even finish. Some have gone already, and 1st place is with Luke Stoltman and his 47 seconds time. Paul Smith and Tom Stoltman are up next looking to give us the fastest time. Stoltman using his size to his advantage, being able to lift the sacks easier and load things into the skip easier as well. He ends up with the new fasted time! Hollands is up against Bishop, and it will be interesting to see how the much slimmed down Terry does in an event like this. Despite being older than Bishop, Hollands is leading so far, but the las sack sees Bishop catching up and taking the lead, but Terry is faster and loading the tire and just gets the win! A great finish! 45.93 seconds puts Terry into 1st, and Bishop is now in 2nd. Last up as always we have Hall and Hicks. Hicks will no doubt be the fitter man, but the pure STRENGTH of Hall allows him to pick up all the implements right off the ground in a single lift which saves a ton of time. Neither beat Terry or Hicks, but Hall beats Hicks which is all he really needed.
Event 5 – Forward Hold
Hold a 30kg hammer with 2 hands for as long as possible? Well that doesn’t sound too bad…
Ben Brunning, Wale’s strongest man finally shows some of his potential with the best time so far. Unfortunately though Tom Stoltman has had to retire from the competition with a shoulder injury. We continue with the event, and its Paul Smith against Ken Nowicki. Nowicki drops it under 30 seconds which won’t be good for him, meanwhile Paul Smith passes the 49 second mark and puts himself in the lead! 1 minute and 2 seconds! Impressive as hell and on this day I don’t think anyone will beat that time. Eddie is the only other man to go over a minute with this hammer, but with his injuries I don’t see him beating it today. We shall see though as he and Hicks are out against each other next. Both men did fairly poor on the last event by their standards, so they will want a good result here to prevent anyone coming up from behind and knocking them off the #1 and #2 spots. Hicks drops it at 44.33, leaving him in 4th place so far, but Eddie keeps on going and manges a second place with 58 seconds! While he didn’t win, he does put some space between himself and Graham which will only increase his lead at the top.
As we move on to the final event, lets check up on the points!
Eddie maintains his #1 position and is 5 points ahead of Hicks going into the final event, which puts him in a very good standing. Unless Eddie’s injuries prove too much for him, a 5th Britain’s Strongest Man title seems the most likely outcome here. Hicks should maintain his 2nd place on the podium at the end, but the battle for 3rd place could go to either Bishop, Smith, Hollands and even Stoltman!
Event 6 – Atlas Stones
Its the most famous strongman event ever; the Atlas Stones! 5 Giant stones weighing between 140kg and 200kg must be lifted in order onto platforms in the fasted time possible! Once upon a time, that 200kg stone was rarely placed on the platform. These days however, many have the power to get it up, so time will be the deciding factor for most people! We are down to the last 3 pairs, as Stoltman faces Hollands! Both men have a good chance of a podium finish, and both men are well suited to this event due to their size. Hollands however is a veteran of the sport and a great stone lifter, and in 22.84 seconds he puts up one hell of a time that could land him on the podium! Stoltman also finishes all 5 stones but in a slower time, meaning he no longer has any chance of a 3rd place. Paul Smith takes on Adam Bishop as they continue the battle for 3rd place. Paul Smith is one of the smallest men and might struggle here, but he gets the first couple of stones up faster than the taller Adam Bishop! However it all comes down to that 5th stone, and while both get it on the platform, Bishop is the faster man. That being said, his time is still slower than Terry’s, so its still to be seen if he can keep his 3rd place or not. Hall Vs Hicks one more time, and if Eddie can stay healthy enough he should still win the title regardless of his time. Sub 20 seconds and Eddie Hall makes the stones look lightweight! Hicks comes in 3rd behind Terry, which might be the time that sends Terry onto the podium with Hicks and Hall!
And the finals scores are:
Well well, Terry Hollands and Adam Bishop end up tied for 3rd place, but its Terry who makes the podium due to his faster time on the stones! Graham Hicks does well with his second place, while Eddie THE BEAST Hall takes his record breaking 5th Britain’s Strongest Man title! He said at the start of the show that at 60% he’s still good enough to be the best in Britain, and he proved it without a shadow of a doubt!!!
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