Europe’s Strongest Man, 5th April, 2025, First Direct Arena, Leeds
Europe’s Strongest Man 2025 – Everything You Need to Know!
As the 2025 Strongman season begins to gather pace there’s less than seven weeks to go until Europe’s Strongest Man – the greatest one-day strongman show on earth! Britain’s Strongest Man is safely in the books and a first national title is finally in the hands of Scotland’s Luke Stoltman – the defending and two-time European champion! Will the Highland Oak top the podium for a third time? Or will the Polish Powerhouse, Mateusz Kieliszkowski, claim the European title he has come so close to winning?
Tickets for what never fails to be one of Strongman’s hardest-fought and most thrilling contests are available at www.giants-live.com This is a contest fans will not want to miss out on with four former winners on the roster, including Ukraine’s 2020 World’s Strongest Man winner, Oleksii Novikov and 2023 champion, Pavlo Kordiyaka. England’s last winner, Luke Richardson, will also be there, ready to prove his 2020 victory was no one-off! As always, the top three will earn qualifying spots for the 2025 Word’s Strongest Man, which will be held on 13th-18th May, in Sacramento, California.
Whoever ends the night on April 5th with the winner’s trophy held aloft will add their name to a long list of European strength greats that goes all the way back to 1980. The late, great, Geoff Capes was the first to call himself Europe’s Strongest Man, taking the inaugural contest victory from Richard Slaney and Vincenz Hortnagl. Since then, twenty-five different men have won the title, representing fourteen separate nations.
Who is Europe’s Greatest Strongman?
In terms of titles won, Poland’s Mariusz Pudzianowski’s six victories makes him the most successful European strongman of all time. Paired with his five World’s Strongest Man wins, the world of Strongman has never seen a more prolific winner than the man they used to call “The Dominator.” Hafthór Björnsson’s five titles puts him a clear second, with a trio of men having claimed three titles a-piece: Žydrūnas Saviskas of Lithuania, Finland’s Riku Kiri, and Britain’s one and only Geoff Capes.
Which is the Strongest Nation in Europe?
It’s an intriguing anomaly in the world of strength, that one of the world’s smallest nations should produce so many Strongman legends. An incredible eight Europe’s Strongest Man titles have been won by Icelandic athletes, with Magnús Ver Magnússon and Jón Páll Sigmarsson adding one and two titles, respectively, to Björnsson’s five. Iceland have also taken nine World’s Strongest Man titles, a number only surpassed by the United States, with twelve.
England are the next most successful nation, tied with Poland, on seven Euro titles split between Capes (x3), Jamie Reeves (x2), Laurence Shahlaei (x1) and Luke Richardson (x1). Combined with the three wins by Welshmen and Scotsmen (Luke Stoltman having won twice and Forbes Cowan having shared the title with Gary Taylor in 1991), then Britain’s ten victories place them two ahead of Iceland. Six of Poland’s wins belong to Pudzianowski, with Jarek Dymek taking a single title in 2005.
Finland have won five titles courtesy of Riku Kiri’s Hatrick and Jouko Ahola’s brace of wins. Their stranglehold on the title ran from 1995-1999, with five consecutive titles going to Finland. This streak was then bettered by Poland who won seven contests between 2002 and 2009. The Netherlands have produced four winners, with Berend Veneberg, Ted van der Parre, Ab Wolders and Simon Wulfse all winning a title each.
Who is the Reigning Europe’s Strongest Man?
Luke Stoltman claimed his second Europe’s Strongest Man title in 2024 by the narrowest of margins from Latvia’s Aivars Šmaukstelis. The contest reached a thrilling climax in the Atlas Stones with Stoltman leading by a single point as the final pairing began. Both men ripped through their set of five stones and placed their final 200kg orbs on the platforms simultaneously! Not even frame-by-frame video analysis could separate them, and a rare dead heat was declared, confirming Stoltman as the champion.
Where is Europe’s Strongest Man held?
The city of Leeds has been home to Europe’s Strongest Man since 2012. Prior to that, the venue changed year by year, much like World’s Strongest Man, and was held in various location across the continent; from Budapest to the Faroe Islands. The contest found its first semi-permanent home at Leeds Headingley Stadium from 2012-2015, before moving indoors in 2016.
The lure of Leeds has proved irresistible, as Europe’s, and indeed the world’s, greatest strongmen have gathered every year to battle it out for the European crown and vie for single lift world titles and records. The First Direct Arena first welcomed Europe’s strength elite in 2016, on a night that will forever be etched on the minds of strength aficionados. In front of over 10,000 exhilarated fans, Eddie Hall deadlifted half a tonne and Laurence Shahlaei caused a major upset by beating Hafthór Björnsson to the title!
Since that first contest, The First Direct Arena has witnessed many more memorable showdowns, not least the incredible head-to-head battle between Hall and Björnsson the following year. The Mountain set a world record in the Atlas Stones to clinch an epic victory and deny The Beast the title he was never to win. His 17.45 second 120-200kg stone run still stands as the world record and has not even been eclipsed by the Albatross himself, Tom Stoltman.
The following year, amidst the covid outbreak, Europe’s moved outdoors to Allerton Castle in Yorkshire, where Luke Richardson took top honours and earned his nickname, “The Future.” Returning to the First Direct Arena, the last four titles have been shared between two Ukrainians and a Scotsman, with Oleksii Novikov and Pavlo Kordiyaka taking a win each, to Luke Stoltman’s 2021 and 2024 victories.
Who is Competing at Europe’s Strongest Man in 2025?
Twelve men have so far been confirmed to contest the 2025 Europe’s Strongest Man contest, including the defending champion, Luke Stoltman and previous winners, Oleksii Novikov and Pavlo Kordiyaka. Poland’s Mateusz Kieliszkowski returns to the Giants Live stage for the first time since 2019, when he won the World Tour Finals.
Last year’s runner-up, Aivars Šmaukstelis, will be there, hoping to go one better, as will Ondřej Fojtů of the Czech Republic who finished just off the podium in 4th. Pavlo Nakonechnyy rounds off a trio of Ukrainians and is a Giants Live winner, having won the 2022 Strongman Open.
England will be represented by former winner, Luke Richardson, who claimed two podium finishes last season as he returned from injury. He’ll be joined by Andrew Flynn, fresh from his runner-up performance at Britain’s Strongest Man.
Italy’s Nicolas Cambi returns after his excellent 6th place finish on his debut, last year. Completing the line-up will be Ireland’s Pa O’Dwyer and 2023 Master’s World’s Strongest Man and deadlift world record holder, Rauno Heinla of Estonia.
Such is the nature of elite Strongman, that each of these athletes will be preparing for the contest with maximum intensity and injury setbacks are a constant risk. Changes to the line-up are an ever-present reality and an inevitable consequence of the extremes these athletes put their body’s through in order to lift the weights they do and compete for the top titles.
What are the Events for ESM 2025?
The five events facing this year’s competitors have already been announced and feature a demanding blend of top-end strength and endurance, in both static and moving disciplines. The event order is yet to be confirmed, although it’s a given that the Stones will be last. Overhead and pulling power will be thoroughly tested in the Axle Deadlift for Reps and Press Medley. The Axle weight should be around 360kg, and the press medley will include four implements: Dumbbell, Safe, Axle and Log. This will be a new event for Giants Live and should certainly suit Luke Stoltman in his bid for a third European title.
Speed and explosiveness will be put to the test in the Carry & Drag, whilst sheer grit and determination will be vital in the 200kg Shield Walk. Both these events tend to favour the lighter and more athletic competitors, but only athletes that have a mix of both speed and agility, as well as static power, can hope to have any real chance of overall victory.
Want to watch Europe’s Strongest Man 2025? Tickets are available through www.giants-live.com and the contest can also be livestreamed through www.officialstrongman.com.
