World’s Strongest Man 2021 – Giants Live Recap


Giants Live 1 – Royal Albert Hall Strongman Classic

The first strongman event to take place in the historic arena for 120 years! The competitors are:

Iron Biby – One of the best overhead pressers in the world

Laurence Shahlaei – Former 2x Britain’s Strongest Man, UK’s Strongest Man, Europe’s Strongest Man & 4th Place finish at WSM 2011. One off coming out of retirement show.

Adam Bishop – 2020 Britain’s Strongest Man

Tom Stoltman – 2nd place at WSM 2020

Luke Stoltman – Multi-time Scotland’s Strongest Man

Mark Felix – 55 Years old

Gavin Bilton – 2x and current UK’s Strongest Man

Pa O’Dwyer – 5x Ireland’s Strongest Man

Evan Singleton – Former WWE Developmental Signee

Aivars Smaukstelis – 8th place at WSM 2020

Aleskii Novikov – 2020 WSM

The first event was the Axle Press for max weight. Started at 170KG which was too much for a few of the athletes. The ones that did lift it moved on to 190KG which finished off everyone except for Biby, Tom Stoltman and Novikov. 205KG was the next weight, which proved too much for even the reigning WSM Novikov, as well as Stoltman. Iron Biby was the last man standing, and took the event win with a successful lift at 205KG. However… that wasn’t enough for him! The current record on this bar stands at 216KG, held by Eddie Hall. Biby makes the jump to 217KG, but sadly fails the first attempt. The second attempt? Also failure. Will third time be lucky? YES! Iron Biby With a NEW WORLD RECORD on the Axle Press! The Hercules Hold was next, with Mark Felix going in as the favourite given his world records in the last couple of years. However it would be Iron Biby taking another event win, with Felix taking 3rd. Event 3 was the Axle Deadlift for reps. 360KG and 60 seconds to do it in. The former Deadlift King Mark Felix sadly managed 0 lifts and has suffered an injury. Adam Bishop faced off against Novikov, ending with 7-6 reps respectively to place them 1st and 2nd in the event. Biby took joint 3rd with Singleton. The 400KG Frame Carry is the penultimate event, with a 25m course for it to be carried down. Novikov flies down the course, coming close to the world record, taking his first event win of the competition. With one event left, Iron Biby was 2 points ahead of Novikov… but sadly had to pull out due to injury, potentially costing him the overall win. The final event, the castle stones, would now decide the winner between Novikov and Singleton. An incredibly close battle between them, with Singleton taking the win by less than a second. Tom Stoltman takes the win in the event, but it doesn’t affect the top places overall. In the end, Novikov takes 1st place, with Singleton in 2nd, and Biby retaining a podium position despite not being able to partake in the last event! A great showing for the reigning WSM, and a fantastic showing from Evan Singleton and Iron Biby, 2 athletes who have improved so much in such a short amount of time. Ones to watch for the future no doubt!

Giants Live 2 – World Open

Andy Black – Scotland’s Strongest Man

Rauno Heinla – Co-Winner of World Deadlift Championships 2019

Mikhail Shivlyakov – Former WSM Finalist

Gabriel Pena – First Mexican athlete to compete at WSM

Pavolo Nakonechnyy – Powerlifting World Champion

Ivan Makarov – Powerlifting Champion

Nedzmin Ambeskovic – Co-Winner of World Deadlift Championships 2019

Evan Singleton – Former WWE Developmental Signee

Adam Bishop – 2020 Britain’s Strongest Man

Oleksii Novikov – 2020 WSM

Gavin Bilton – 2x and current UK’s Strongest Man

The first event is the world deadlift championships, featuring some guest lifters who won’t be competing in the rest of the competition. They are hyping up a potential 505KG lift, but can anyone actually do it? We start off at 400KG, a weight that 10 years ago would have been one of the winning weights in most deadlift competitions. Everyone lifts it who attempts it, though most pass on such a “light” weight! 425KG gets Gavin Bilton a Welsh Record, and shockingly doesn’t eliminate ANY athlete! 453.5KG aka 1000lbs, is the next weight, and this proves too much for Andy Black, who is relatively new to strongman so even making it near that weight is INSANE. 7 men prior to this event have lifted 1000lb or more in a competition. Today ALONE, 6 more men lift that weight! Crazy! A big jump to 475KG proves too much for most of the remaining athletes, but not Makarov. Everyone else either retired from the event or skipped to 505KG for a world record attempt! First to try is Pavlo Nakonechnyy, but he just can’t get it off the ground. Only Makarov remains… but sadly 505KG is a little too much for him on this day too. Give it a year and I think the record will be broken! An insane event, with 425KG being the lightest weight to get people on the scoreboard. Makarov wins overall with his 475KG lift, and of course 6 men added to the history books with 1000lb lifts! Event 2 now is the carry and drag; 320KG farmers walk then a 350KG chain and anchor that needs to be dragged. A tough event normally, but after those crazy deadlifting numbers, this might prove too much for some of them! 4 men, including Makarov, fail to finish the course, while Singleton takes 1st place ahead of Bishop and Novikov! Event 3 sees the return of the Viking Press, with the athletes needing press out 150KG as many times in 60 seconds. Singleton takes another event win with 12 reps, ahead of Bishop and Novikov again who tie on 11 reps each. The Hammer Hold is the next event, with a 30KG hammer needing to be held up with fully stretched out arms as long as possible. Pena is the winner here, while Novikov takes 2nd place just ahead of Singleton. The castle stones once again finish a competition, as Evan Singleton goes into this final event in current 1st place overall. Can Novikov take the win though? Bishop flies through all 5 in UNDER 19 SECONDS, ensuring his spot on the podium, and giving him a chance at a higher position than 3rd. It all comes down to Singleton and Novikov once again. A couple of slip ups from Novikov and Singleton beats him again, and that means he wins the Giants Live overall, beating the current WSM! Not only that, but Adam Bishop manages second place ahead of the WSM as well!

Giants Live 3 – Europe’s Strongest Man

Luke Richardson is sadly injured and unable to defend his title. Instead we have some of the strongest men on the planet competing for his title!

Pa O’Dwyer – 5x Ireland’s Strongest Man

Rauno Heinla – Co-Winner of World Deadlift Championships 2019

Gavin Bilton – 2x and current UK’s Strongest Man

Marius Lalas –WSM competitor 2018

Ervin Toots – 3rd Europe’s Strong Man 2020

Johnny Hansson – 2020 Sweden’s Strongest Man

Graham Hicks – Britain’s Strongest Man 2019

Luke Stoltman – Multi-time Scotland’s Strongest Man

Adam Bishop – 2020 Britain’s Strongest Man

Oleksii Novikov – 2020 WSM

Event 1 is the Log Press, and when we join the action, 6 men have been and 6 men have failed the opening weight of 180KG. Bishop is the first athlete we see making an attempt, and while he gets it overhead, he isn’t able to fully lock out before falling backwards and almost passing out. Thankfully he doesn’t injure himself! Novikov, Stoltman and Hicks make the lift, and are the only 3 men to continue to the 2nd weight. 195KG for Hicks goes up, while Novikov retires from the event, and Stoltman makes 195KG look easy. 207.5KG is the next weight, and only Stoltman makes the attempt, but unfortunately isn’t able to get it up. He and Hicks tie for 1st place. Event 2 is the 200KG shield carry. No time limit, just carry it as far as possible. Adam Bishop passes out again during this event, and sadly has to retire from the entire competition as a precaution. Lalas ends up taking the win, while Luke Stoltman gains a valuable 2nd place. Novikov and Hicks way down in 7th and 8th place! Third event is the deadlift for reps. 360KG and 60 seconds! Graham Hicks gets 8 reps, equalling the world record and beating Novikov by 2 reps in their head-to-head. Heinla reaches 8 reps with 20 seconds to spare, and after a little rest he manages one more rep for a new world record! Luke Stoltman only manages 3 reps for 7th place, a bad finish for him as he was firmly in 1st place overall going into the event. He now only has a 1-point lead. Event 4 is the 450KG car walk, and a 20m course to run it down! Gavin Bilton seems to suffer from whatever Adam Bishop had, as he seems to pass out, but thankfully isn’t injured. He won’t be competing for the rest of the competition. Novikov shows off his speed, taking 1st place, while Stoltman manages to take 2nd place, and Hicks is way down in 8th, giving Stoltman a lifeline going into the final event in terms of keeping his 1st place position! Event 5, the final event, is of course the castle stones. Stoltman is fantastic at this event, and will likely be the favourite to win ahead of even Novikov. Hicks and Lalas go at it for the 3rd podium position, and its Hicks who just takes it. Its now down to Novikov and Stoltman to decide the 2021 Europe’s Strongest Man! Novikov actually takes the event win, but Stoltman does enough to take the overall win. The NEW Europe’s Strongest Man, from Scotland, is Luke Stoltman!!!

Giants Live 4 – World Tour Finals

Iron Biby – Axle Press World Record Holder of 217KG

Kevin Faires – 7th place WSM 2020

Andy Black – Scotland’s Strongest Man

Gavin Bilton – 2x and current UK’s Strongest Man

Gabriel Pena – First Mexican athlete to compete at WSM

Mark Felix – 55 Years old

Maxime Boudreault – 2020 WSM Competitor

Adam Bishop – 2020 Britain’s Strongest Man

Evan Singleton – 2020 World Open Winner

Tom Stoltman – 2nd place at WSM 2020

Luke Stoltman – 2021 Europe’s Strongest Man

We start off this show with a return to the log press, as Iron Biby was unable to get a flight in time to join in at Europe’s Strongest Man. He lifts the same weights as everyone else did, easily winning overall with 207.5KG, however it’s the WORLD RECORD that Iron Biby is after! Held by Big Z for the longest time, 228KG has been the world record with nobody ever coming close. Iron Biby is attempting 229KG. He already broke the Axle Press WR… and yes, he finally takes the Log Press World Record as well! Amazing performance from him! Event 1 now, and it’s the Nicol Stones. One stone weighs 140KG and the other is 138KG, and both have rings to lift them with instead of handles, making it brutal on the hands. Andy Black holds the current record at just over 21M… but its soon broken here by Kevin Faires who manages 22.2M! Andy Black attempts to take his record back, but isn’t able to this time, settling for 2nd place. Log Press is the second event, but for reps rather than max weight. 150KG and 60 second time limit. Some big numbers by the athletes you’d expect, with both Stoltman brothers coming out on top with 9 reps each! Now for the deadlift, 360KG and 60 seconds to get as many reps as possible. Luke Stoltman is down is joint 5th at the end of the event after only 3 reps, while his brother Tom takes 3rd with 6. However joint first is Bishop and Pena with a massive 7 reps, and no doubt those results will turn the overall points upside down! Event 4 sees the car walk again. Its 450KG and there is a 20m course for it to be run down. We don’t really see any fast times until the final pairing of Singleton and Tom Stoltman, and its Singleton who edges out the Albatross. Both Stoltman brothers remain in the top 3 though, and Singleton joins them in the top 3 places overall going into the final event! The final event? Castle stones, of course! Tom Stoltman is the BEST stone lifter ever, with the current world record of just over 16 seconds. He’ll be the odds-on favourite to win. His brother Luke is also fantastic at this, and as we’ve seen in previous Giants Live competitions, Evan Singleton is great too. Shall be an interesting event in terms of the 3 podium finishes! Luke is first up out of the top 3, and finishes in just under 20 seconds. Singleton and Tom are last, and they have a target to beat. They both go great, but they both stumble on the 4th stone, dropping it and knocking the 5th stone away! Tom beats Singleton, but both do it in a slow time for them. Going into the final it seemed like Tom would walk away with the overall win, but now it could go to any of the top 3… and it ends up being Luke! First Europe’s Strongest Man and now the World Tour Finals winner! Luke, Tom and finally Evan are the top 3 in the end.

Giants Live 5 – Britain’s Strongest Man

The final Giants Live qualifier before we get into the World’s Strongest Man Heats!

Adam Bishop – 2020 Britain’s Strongest Man

Tom Stoltman – 2nd place at WSM 2020

Luke Stoltman – 2021 Europe’s Strongest Man

Graham Hicks – Britain’s Strongest Man 2019

Mark Felix – 55 Years old

Andy Black – Scotland’s Strongest Man

Pa O’Dwyer – 5x Ireland’s Strongest Man

Desmond Gahan – 2nd Place Wales’s Strongest Man 2021

Shane Flowers – England’s Strongest Man 2021

Paul Smith – 3x England’s Strongest Man

Event 1 is the dumbbell medley, with 5 massive dumbbells weight between 80KG and 120KG. A 75 second time limit to lift them all! Nothing much to write home about until the BIG GUNS come out, with Luke Stoltman being the first to make 4, while Hicks gets 3 in a faster time than anyone before him. Only Tom and Bishop can better that now. Tom easily makes 4, but in a slower time than his brother. Bishop also gets 4 but in a slower time still. Nobody gets the 5th one up! Event 2 is the Super Yoke, and Mark Felix is the early leader when he runs down the course in just over 11 seconds! But just when we thought that was fast, Bishop flies down in 9.54 seconds! The Stoltman brothers are last to go head-to-head, and its Tom who takes the win between them, but still not good enough for even 2nd place. Deadlift for reps is the 3rd event, and back again is the massive 360KG weight to be lifted as many times as possible in 60 seconds. Hicks and Tom Stoltman put on a great show, each getting 8 reps. Last up is the old guard vs the new; Felix Vs Bishop. In his day, Felix was almost unbeatable at deadlift for reps. Now Bishop is in that spot, rarely getting beaten. Bishop manages 8 reps in 30 seconds, but a mistake on a 9th rep attempt likely costs him the chance for more. Felix gets 6. That means we have 3 men in joint 1st place for the event! Now its time for the Loading Race; 4 objects to be carried down a 12m course and placed into a skip in the quickest time. Luke has the best time with only 2 men to go, but one of those men is his brother Tom who might be the best in the world as this type of event. And yes, in the end, its Tom that takes the win, while Bishop only manages 5th. As we go into the final event, Tom is in 1st, Adam in 2nd, and Luke in 3rd with Hicks only 2 points behind him. It will all be decided on the stones! Luke and Hicks go head-to-head now for that 3rd podium place, and maybe better depending on the results. In a bit of an upset, Hicks beats Luke, and Andy Black is placed between them! We’ll have to wait and see how that affects the placements. Finally, its Tom Vs Bishop. If the stones don’t run away from him again, Tom should win. Bishop is very impressive, getting pace with Tom, but in the end it is indeed Tom that takes the win, and is the NEW Britain’s Strongest Man! 2nd place goes to Adam Bishop, and 3rd is Hicks who just managed to edge out Luke Stoltman. What a competition!

And so there we have it, all 5 Giants Live qualifiers for the WSM in 2021. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be doing daily posts for each Heat and then the Final! If everyone can stay healthy, I can see both Stoltman brothers, Evan Singleton, and Iron Biby being MAJOR forces in the competition, potentially overshadowing the defending champion Novikov. Then we still have the likes of Brian Shaw and JF Caron that we haven’t seen yet in any of these shows! All in all, it should be an interesting and exciting time!

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