
Well, here we are once again. The day of the World’s Strongest Man Finals. Who will be crowned the 2021 World’s Strongest Man? Won’t be long before I find out, but one thing IS for certain; it won’t be last year’s winner! Oleskii Novikov failed to qualify this year, which leaves the field wide open for a new winner. 10 men have qualified through the heats, and here they all are:
- Brian Shaw – 4x World’s Strongest Man
- Maxime Boudreault – Competed in WSM 2020
- Tom Stoltman – Britain’s Strongest Man 2021 & 2nd Place WSM 2020
- Trey Mitchell III – 8th place WSM 2019
- JF Caron – 3rd place WSM 2020
- Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted – 2nd WSM Appearance
- Adam Bishop – Britain’s Strongest Man 2020 & 6th Place WSM 2020
- Konstantine Janashia – 4th Place WSM 2016
- Luke Stoltman – Europe’s Strongest Man 2021
- Bobby Thompson – 2nd WSM Appearance
Only one former WSM made it into the finals, and he’s won is 4 times before and desperate to make it a 5th time. Podium finishers, former finalists and 2 first timers round out the field. Not everyone can win though, but I do think half of the athletes have a great chance of the podium.
Brian Shaw
A former FOUR TIME winner entering his 13th (in a row!) final, and he’s looking better this year than his previous couple of competitions. He has slimmed down a little, making him faster, fitter and able to move better while maintaining strength. He dominated his heat as he almost always does, and after his most disappointing performance last year you know he’ll be out to redeem himself. Anything less than a podium finish will be a failure for him, and he’ll absolutely be gunning for the top spot for a 5th time. However, having competed for so many years now, his body might not be able to maintain such a top performance for the entire finals, and that might prevent him from winning one more time.
Tom Stoltman
This massive Scotsman missed out on the title last year by a single point; one that he could have picked up had he not made a mistake on the first event. This year he looks stronger than ever, and already has a big win under his belt with Britain’s Strongest Man 2021. He missed out on Europe’s Strongest Man due to covid, so who knows if he could have taken that title too. While he didn’t dominate his heat like Brian Shaw, I expect him to turn it up a notch for the final, and with Novikov not qualifying and defending his title, there might not be anyone stopping The Albatross from taking the title of World’s Strongest Man!
JF Caron
After years of 4th place finishes in the final, JF Caron finally made the podium last year and took 3rd. Despite being around for what feels like forever, Caron appears to only now be in his absolute PRIME, and that should be worrying to every other strongman right now. After getting a taste of the podium, he’ll be hungry for it again, and if Tom Stoltman can move up a spot with Novikov out, then so can Caron!
Adam Bishop
Possibly the “least” likely of the 5 names, but still one with a massive chance of a podium finish. Former Britain’s Strongest Man from 2020 and in his 3rd final now, he has all the experience he needs, plus based on the handful of events I’m aware of for the finals this year, he has some of his best events coming up. If a podium place is out of his reach, top 5 is a must for him this year, and he’ll definitely be disappointed if he doesn’t reach that imo. Despite not winning his heat, I genuinely think he has a better chance overall than Janashia, which is why I’m putting Bishop here instead of the Georgian.
Luke Stoltman
Another man who didn’t win his heat, but someone I expect to do better in the actual finals. Last year, his brother Tom definitely overshadowed him. This year, Luke has stepped out of the shadow of his huge little brother, winning the first ever Giants Live competition in Scotland, and taking the crown of Europe’s Strongest Man. What a moment it would be to have the World’s Strongest Brothers both on the podium at the end! Taking 1st place isn’t something I’m expecting from Luke, but a podium finish is more than in his grasp.
And those are the 5 men I believe have the best chance of a podium finish, and perhaps even winning the 2021 World’s Strongest Man title. But the real question is… who out of those 5 will ACTUALLY WIN? Based on everything I’ve seen in the heats and during Giants Live… I’m going to say that the winner of the 2021 World’s Strongest Man title is going to be, for the first time ever… a Scotsman named Stoltman!!!
Ok, ok, that’s cheating as it could be either of the brothers. But I think we all know which one I’m going to predict over the other. Tom Stoltman is officially my pick to win the WSM competition in 2021!!!