Life
Bobby Thompson, otherwise known as “The American Nightmare,” is a World’s Strongest Man finalist from Virginia, USA. He is the current American record holder in the Log Lift and one of the most statically powerful athletes currently in the sport.
At 6-foot, 1 inch (1.85m), Bobby is not one of the taller athletes on the professional circuit, but at 150kg (331lb), he has packed a huge amount of muscle onto his frame. In recent years he has leaned down, dropping a considerable amount of bodyweight.
Thompson was born into a military family, in Germany, before settling in Virginia. His father was a cross-country runner and there were no other strongmen in his family. However, Bobby describes himself as always being “the strong guy” in his small-town setting and has successfully capitalised on his massive natural strength.
Career
Bobby has made tremendously fast progress in the sport from his first contest experience in the novice class. Whilst working in a gym, Thompson was approached and asked to compete in a small local contest, which he won with very little specific equipment training.
After making his Giants Live debut at The North American Open, in 2019, where he placed 4th, Bobby’s career took a major upturn after his Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championship victory, which helped propel him into the limelight. He made his Arnold Classic professional debut in 2020 – placing 9th – and was able to qualify for his first World’s Strongest Man contest. He placed 3rd in his heat, after losing a stone-off to Britain’s Graham Hicks.
He returned the following year to successfully qualify for the finals, where he placed 9th. Despite withdrawing from the last event, Thompson was able to post the second heaviest maximum log lift (205kg/452lb) and deadlift repetition total (9 reps with 350kg/772lb, proving his credentials as one of the best static lifters anywhere in the world.
In 2021, Thompson defeated Rob Kearney’s American log lift record with a successful lift of 217kg (478lb). A year later he achieved a top three finish at the Arnold Classic and the Giants Live World Log Lift Challenge, losing out to Luke Stoltman and Iron Biby.
At the 2022 World’s Strongest Man contest he was left frustrated not to have made the final after leading Brian Shaw in his heat but failing to complete any lifts in the stone-off. He would lose out in yet another stone-off the following year, this time to Tom Stoltman. Over the last few seasons, Bobby’s best contest results have come at the Arnold Classic, where he has placed 3rd in 2022 an 2023.
Best Title
In 2019 Bobby won the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Coming into the final event – the deadlift for repetitions – he was just half a point ahead of fellow American, Marcus Crowder. Bobby was able to win the deadlift with 15 reps and take the Amateur world title.
Competition Results
Best Lifts
Competition Lifts
Media
Thompson’s performance at World’s Strongest Man will be broadcast on Channel 5 over the Christmas period. Supporters and fans of Bobby can follow his training and competition progress through his Instagram account: @bobby_thompson_prostrongman. Thompson has over 51k followers who enjoy watching his training and reading his motivational messages. There is also a plentiful supply of videos of Bobby on YouTube, showing his contest performances, training sessions and interviews for Laurence Shahlaei’s channel, Big Loz Official and many others.
