Here we go! The 10 strongest men on the planet battle it out to become THE World’s Strongest Man 2025!
I already gave my predictions here, but to simplify things, I believe Tom Stoltman will take a 4th title, with Hooper and Mitchell 2nd and 3rd!
Event 1 – Knack Carry & Hoist
The first part of this is a Zercher Carry, where they carry a 250kg implement down a 20m course. Its like a Conan’s Wheel, only instead of going in a circle they run down a straight course! Don’t think this has ever been in an event at WSM before. Once they complete THAT part of the course, they then have to hoist up a 200kg implement 8m in the air with an arm over arm pull! Brutal start to the event! I expect Tom and Hooper to be good, but beyond that I find it hard to predict! The first 2 men to take on this new challenge is Kordiyaka and Williams! Both men go well, no real problems at any point from either man, but its Kordiyaka who takes the win between the two. 38.11s for Williams, 37.42s for Kordiyaka! Fojtu against Flowers next, and Flowers sadly passes out before the halfway mark. Hopefully he’s not injured. Fojtu keeps going, and finishes in 40.95s. Thankfully Shane Flowers gets back up, but a potential last place in the 1st event won’t help him going forward. Luke Stoltman now takes on Paddy Haynes! Luke has been very good in this type of event in the past, and Haynes is great at most things. Haynes is a little quicker, and in the end Haynes gets the win in this one on one. Stoltman gets stuck at one point but eventually powers through. Not the result he would have wanted. 45.58s for Luke, and 36.96s puts Haynes in the current lead! Trey Mitchell against Rayno Nel time. Trey’s grip isn’t the best and that might cause issues in the arm over arm part of this. Nel meanwhile is very fast, absolutely speeding down the first part of the course, and then finishes in the fastest time so far at 30.58s. Trey is having a hard time, finishing in 49.38s. Luckily he has some very good events coming up. Now its time for the final 2 men; Tom Stoltman, 3 time and reigning, defending WSM, and Mitchell Hooper, 2023 WSM and on a streak of 7 big show wins in a row. Both men charge down the course, nothing between them, and it’ll come down to the hoist part. Neither are able to beat Nel, but its Tom who gets the win in this big head to head! 35.47s for Hooper, and 34.49s for Stoltman! Nel with an impressive victory in his first ever final putting everyone to shame though!
Event 2 – 18″ Deadlift for Max
Simple stuff, deadlift for maximum weight using an 18″ deadlift bar that is higher than a typical bar, and allows athletes to lift more than usual. I’ll get sick of writing this, and you’ll get sick of reading it, but this should be good for Tom and Hooper. Trey can hopefully make up for his bad start in the first event too, and I wouldn’t put it past Haynes and Nel to finish high on this as well! Opening weight was 402kg, and everyone has gone though. Second round was 435kg, and Luke Stoltman failed at this weight. 465kg, and its Williams and Kordiyaka who fail this time. Flowers and Fojtu decide to not go any further. Now its time for round 4 with 490kg, and we get to see the action for the first time. First up, Trey Mitchell, and he gets it. Next is Paddy Haynes, but he cannot budge the massive weight. Super Hooper gets his chance and he can’t manage it, which is a BIG surprise. Finally, its Tom Stoltman, who will desperately want to lift this to put more space between him and Hooper. They are tied on points after the first event along with Nel. Tom gives it a good attempt, but on this day, it just isn’t going up. Lastly, winner of the first event, Rayno Nel! He manages it! Wow! Nel leaves it there, but Trey Mitchell wants to get big points, and continues on at a weight of 500kg. Its up, and its good! Trey Mitchell with an event win and the biggest lift in the event!
Event 3 – Hercules Hold
318kg pillars to be held for as long as possible! This could be good for Eddie Williams who has a tremendous grip. Luke Stoltman was first, and he managed 32.30s. Next up, its Eddie Williams. Will he do as well as I predicted? He looks good going towards a minute, with the record being 71.12 seconds, and he beats it with EASE. 1 minute 22.14 seconds! Kordiyaka went and managed 29.91s, and then 40.26s for Shane Flowers. Fojtu getting back into things now with 55.41 seconds, which could see him finish high in this event. Haynes however beat him out, finishing in 59.64 seconds, and that will be hard enough to beat, never mind Eddie Williams’ world record! Hooper is first up to try, and he lasts for 40.09s, and he looked uncomfortable the entire time. Tom Stoltman next, and he too looks very uncomfortable very early on. 31.82s and that is not good for him at all. Nel time, and at this rate I expect him to do 5 minutes lol. Not quite 5 minutes but he lasts for 1 minute 15.63 seconds! Beats the old world record, but not the new one. Still, it puts him miles ahead of Stoltman and Hooper! Only Trey is left to try and put a dent in Williams’ time. 22.29s is a very bad result for him, even with his bad grip he has done considerably better at this in the past.
3 events down and 2 more to go, so lets check on the overall scores!
Well, this is not what I was expecting. Rayno Nel is SEVEN POINTS above Hooper, and 9 above Stoltman with only 2 events left. Neither Tom or Hooper have looked their best so far in the final, and with Paddy Haynes on on their heels, we might see a big surprise on the podium this year.
Event 4 – Flintstone Press for Max
2 big rocks (and weights) on a bar to be pressed overhead from behind the neck. To make things slightly easier they lift them onto their shoulders from a squat position, and then just have to press out. Trey, Tom, Hooper and Fojtu SHOULD do well here, but will they? Nel says he isn’t looking forward to this, and Haynes isn’t very good at overhead either, so this could be time for the favourites to gain back big points. 188kg was the opening weight, with Haynes and Williams failing to get a lift. Bad for Haynes especially as he will get 0 points, and his chances of making the podium may be gone now. 200kg next, and everyone has managed it, with only Nel left to lift. He isn’t able to get it, and it looks like his 7 point lead is going to disappear at this end of this event. 211kg next, with Flowers and Luke Stoltman failing. 220kg, and everyone makes it! 230kg now, with only Fojtu failing it. 241kg is the new weight, and first up to lift is Trey Mitchell. Absolutely NO PROBLEM. Incredible. Kordiyaka gives it a good try, but fails at this weight. Tom Stoltman time, and its a good lift. Not as easy as Trey, but still very good! Hooper last, and while he locks his arms, he is off balance and cannot remain still. So close. 252kg now, with 2 men left. Trey takes his turn, and a great effort from him still isn’t enough. Tom out last, and he didn’t look as good as Trey at the previous weight, so if he can get it, it’ll be even more impressive. Like Hooper at the last weight, he looks to lock out but is off balance and doesn’t get it. Excellent attempt though!
One event left, so lets see the scores!!!
What a crazy competition this has been so far! Nel went from a 7 point lead down to a 2.5 point lead, with Hooper and Stoltman tired with each other for current 2nd. Trey has bounced back, but it’ll take a miracle for him to get on the podium now, so it seems another 4th place is in his future. Fojtu and Haynes battling for a top 5 spot. With the final event coming up being Tom’s best event, he could claw back the win. Exciting times!
Event 5 – Atlas Stones
5 stones. 150kg to 210kg. Lift them. Load them. You know the drill! Beating Tom here might be impossible, but if Nel can remain in top 3 overall, the title goes to South Africa for the first time ever. And we can never underestimate Hooper either! Luke and Eddie went first. 3 for Luke in 23.05s, and 25.88s for Eddie with 3 as well. Flowers managed 4 in 54.09s, and Kordiyaka did 4 in 38.39s. We join the action wtih Haynes taking on Fojtu. The winner of this little battle should take a top 5 finish. Haynes is going faster, getting 4 in a faster time than Kordiyaka did, while Fojtu has only got 3 at this point. Haynes gives the 5th stone a great attempt but just misses out. He’ll get a top 5 finish in his first final! Fojtu stuck on 3. 31.38s for Fojtu’s 3, and 34.07s for 4 from Haynes to take the current lead. Up next, its Trey Mitchell against Mitchell Hooper. Hooper NEEDS to get all 5 up as quick as possible for a chance of winning overall. A massive mistake from Hooper sees him drop the first stone before the podium and now he’s playing catch-up with Trey! Trey ends up beating him, getting all 5 stones up, as Hooper can’t manage all 5. His chances of winning are gone, I believe. Trey will ensure his 4th place at least, maybe he can get 3rd, I’m not too sure. 31.02s for Hooper’s 4 stones, and 41.08s for Trey’s 5! Now the final 2 men, with everything on the line. Stoltman Vs Nel. To the surprise of nobody, Tom runs through all the stones, finishing in just over 30 seconds. Nel gets 4 in a good time, perhaps quicker than Hooper, but the 5th stone proves too much for him. Does this mean Tom wins? Has Nel managed 2nd?
NEL WINS! HOLY SHIT!!! Rayno Nel, newcomer to the sport, his first time at WSM, and he IS the World’s Strongest Man! Beating out Tom Stoltman by half a point! Hooper remains in 3rd, Trey with his usual 4th place, and Haynes does very well to get a top 5 finish at his first WSM too. What a final!
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