4 men are in the final, and 6 more still to join. Which 2 will go through in this heat???
Shane Flowers – England – 2nd at Britain’s Strongest Man 2025
Lucas Hatton – USA – 2nd at Arnold Strongman Classic 2025
Mateusz Kieliszkowski – Poland – 3rd at Europe’s Strongest Man 2025
Evans Nana – Ghana – 4th at World Tour Finals 2025
Rayno Nel – South Africa – 2x Africa’s Strongest Man
No former WSM winner here, but a handful of men who have made podiums and had impressive competitions over the years. Kieliszkowski would normally be a favourite, and he did finish 3rd at Europe’s only a few months before this competition, but he’s still hit and miss since his comeback, and its impossible to really say if he can make the final this year. Flowers was great at Britain’s Strongest Man, managing to be very consistent across all events without winning any. His consistency here could see him into the final but I don’t expect him to top the leaderboard without winning some events. Lucas Hatton is a powerhouse as we saw at the ASC, and might be the big favourite in this heat. Nana is someone who keeps improving but I wouldn’t expect him to make the final this year. Nel is a newcomer with a big reputation and could surprise some people for sure!
Event 1 – Loading Medley
4 130kg sandbags are placed along a 20m course, with each needing to be carried and loaded into the back of a truck in the quickest time possible! So many very quick athletes in this heat, its very hard to predict. I think the only prediction I can really give is that Hatton won’t finish in 1st in this event. Hatton is up first along with Shane Flowers. As expected, Flowers is very fast, finishing in 40.13 seconds. Hatton is about 8 seconds slower. Next out are Nel and Kieliszkowski. At one point, Kieliszkowski was one of the very best in the world at loading, but years of injuries mean he isn’t quite at his best still. Nel meanwhile is going like a rocket, while Kieliszkowski makes a mistake on the third bag and loses a lot of time. Nel is fast but not as fast as Flowers, while Kieliszkowski is at least faster than Hatton still. Nana is out last on his own. Nana is fast when moving, but takes longer to pick up the bags. He does enough to finish 3rd.
Event 2 – Deadlift for Reps
350kg deadlift for reps! Hatton is a powerhouse and is expected to do well here. This is Kieliszkowski’s worst event, and after not doing nearly as well in the loading medley, this does not look good for the Polish Terminator. Hatton went out first on his own, and managed 7 reps, which so far only 1 man across all heats has beaten. Kieliszkowski and Nana go out next, and Kieliszkowski makes 1 attempt at a rep and gives up. Hope he isn’t injured. Nana is going very well, matching 7 with 20 seconds left. He rests and gives it a go, but like so many others, 7 is max for him. Lastly then its Nel against Flowers. Nel looks the better of the 2, managing 7 with 30 seconds left, and he matches Haynes from the previous heat with 8! Flowers unable to get the 7th rep. Nel continues to look impressive!
Event 3 – Overhead Medley
Time to lift heavy things overhead! Start with a 90kg dumbbell that has to be lifted with one arm over your head TWICE, then onto a 145kg log for 2 reps, and then a 154kg circus barbell for 2 reps, and lastly a 168kg axle! Hatton is one of the best pressers on the planet so I expect him to get all 7, but can he do it faster than Tom Stoltman did? Kieliszkowski used to be king of pressing but unsure if he’s injured again based on the deadlift event, plus he’s still not back to full pressing power yet. Not expecting Nana or Flowers to get all reps here, but Nel is still such a newcomer I have no clue what he’s really capable of. Kieliszkowski is first out, and hopefully he can pull something out of the bag as he is sitting in last with only 2 points right now. Despite not being at his best right now he makes the early reps and implements look so easy. Then he gets to the circus dumbbell and is unable to clean it. He stops there with 4 reps. Clearly he isn’t in the form he needs to be right now. Hatton against Flowers now. As good as Kieliszkowski looked on the log, Hatton looks even better. Shane is going well but much slower than Hatton. The Circus Barbell is cleaned and pressed twice with ease from Hatton too. Flowers manages 1 rep on the Circus Barbell, but is unable to steady himself on the second lockout. Hatton surprisingly doesn’t do the Axle, seems he tired himself out, as we know he’s capable of lifting much heavier weights. Nana and Nel next, and Nel continues to look like he’s one of the best all rounders going. Nana is doing well too, but much slower. Nel ties out trying for a 2nd rep on the circus barbell, while Nana looks like he’s going to get a second rep but cannot steady himself. Nel beats Nana here for time. Hatton wins as expected.
3 events down and 2 more to go, so lets check on the overall scores!
Kieliszkowski down in last with only 3 points is a shock, but he is apparently ill as well as not fully recovered from injuries. He has said he will continue on with the competition regardless, even though he doesn’t expect to win much from this point on. Nel the newcomer is in fantastic form and leading the pack so far, but only half a point separates Hatton, Nana and Flowers for that 2nd spot in the final. Its still anyone’s game (except for Kieliszkowski, sadly)!
Event 4 – Titan’s Toss
A whole new event for WSM, and one that looks to be extremely difficult. 10 14kg sacks to be thrown over a 12f bar in the quickest time… only the sacks are all at different distances away from the bar! The first one will be 7m away, and the last will be 12m away. So they will have to figure out how to get both the distance and the height when throwing, and it’ll change with every sack! Flowers is on of the best throwers in the world, but that is a typical bags over bar event. The distance will throw him off, no pun intended, but I still see him doing very well. Kieliszkowski went out alone and did pretty well all things considered, managing 7 in total. First up for us to see are Flowers and Nana. Flowers goes well until the final 2 which is fails at, leaving him with 8 bags, which might end up being the best anyway. Nana with only 6. Can Hatton or Nel do any better? Both men do very well, getting 8 as well, but I think they were both slower than Flowers.
One event left, so lets see the scores!!!
Nel moves up to first with Flowers in second. Seems Kieliszkowski has withdrawn now despite his favourite event coming up. Nana’s last place in the Titan’s Toss might have ruined his chances of a spot in the final unless something crazy was to hapen to Hatton and Flowers. Hatton will need to work hard to move up from third place but is doable for sure. It makes the final event very exciting!
Event 5 – Natural Stone Medley
No perfectly shaped stones here! Firstly they’ll have to press a 123kg stone overhead, then lift a stone to their shoulder weighing 158kg. A 176kg stone needs to be carried, and lastly they need to load a 181.5kg stone. With Kieliszkowski out, I have no idea who can do what here. Nana went first, and while he only did the first stone, we have seen numerous men fail to do ANY, so he isn’t out of things just yet. Hatton is next, and you’d expect him to blast through the first stone which has to be pressed, but how will he do with everything else? He presses it easily, but now he just cannot manage the second stone to shoulder. And since he did the first stone SLOWER than Nana, Nana is still in the mix, so Flowers MUST do a fast stone at the very least, or hope he can manage one more stone. Flowers is out next, and he does indeed lift the stone faster than Nana, and that confirms that he makes the final! He moves on to the stone to shoulder and while he gets it to his shoulder, he nearly passes out before he can remove one arm. But he at least qualifies for the final! Lastly then its Nel, and he has already qualified but he’ll want to do as many stones as possible for more points going into the final. Less than 25 seconds and the first 2 stones are done! The 3rd stone isn’t much of a problem either! The final stone that has to be loaded gets up in 1 minute 2 seconds! A great finish to a great Heat for him as he continues on into the finals!
3 Heats down, and 3 Brits all in the final! Nel is going into the final looking in great form, especially for someone so new. Could he be the next Mitchell Hooper?
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