Paddy Haynes Triumphs in York!

Overall Standings

Giants Live’s Weekend of Strength ended in the most spectacular fashion as the Dark Horse, Paddy Haynes, overturned a 2.5-point deficit in the final event to take his first England’s Strongest Man title. In a remix of last year’s top three, defending champion Kane Francis returned to action after recovering from potentially career threatening injury to take 3^rd, whilst Andrew Flynn placed second, once again, narrowly losing out to his rival Haynes in a thrilling final event deciding heat.

Only the scorers were aware of the result after Haynes smoked the Sandbag Medley, needing to finish three places higher than Flynn. As the times and overall points were tallied and double-checked, both Haynes and Flynn had to wait nervously with emcee, Neil Pickup. As the overall top three were announced, Haynes dropped to his knees as he realised the English title – his first major victory – was his by just 0.5 of a point!

Acknowledging that he was having a season beyond his wildest dreams, Haynes paid tribute to his team and all that had supported him in what has been a stunning rise to the highest echelons of the sport. Haynes finished just off the podium at Britain’s back in February, but since then has placed second at Europe’s Strongest Man, 6^th at World’s and 3^rd at the Strongman Classic.

Andrew Flynn was left to contemplate what might have been, though he was pleased with what had been a superb performance. Battling Haynes tooth and nail, no quarter was asked nor given, and he was generous in his congratulations of the new champion. The crowd were highly appreciative of his efforts and were equally enthusiastic to see the return of the Hurricane, Kane Francis: the defending champion. Following a serious adductor rupture and hernia injury, Francis required major surgery, and his return was in doubt for a time. Winning the Super Yoke, The Dorset man looked to be near his best and will surely continue to improve as he begins to compete more often.

Another man returning to the fray was 2019 Britain’s Strongest Man, Graham Hicks, who had not competed since 2023. He made the best of starts after winning the Deadlift Ladder, defeating Haynes in the final heat. Haynes was slightly ahead going into the final 380kg barbell but had gambled on not using straps and mixing his grip instead. As the bar angled off to one side he was forced to regrip whilst Hicks easily pulled the final weight. With Ryan Bennett and Flynn all bettering Haynes’ time it looked as though it might prove a costly error in the first event.

Losing no time in making up the lost ground, Paddy romped to victory in the 200kg Shield Carry. His 77.94m was the second furthest carry ever, though short of his own world record. Flynn bagged excellent points, once again, taking second with 60.00m, whilst Ben Glasscock took third with 56.45m. Hicks’s good start was undone by a poor performance, as was Ryan Bennett’s as the pair could only carry far enough to claim 10^th and 11^th respectively.

Kane Francis’s winning time was not without error in the Super Yoke; starting too quickly to maintain his balance, he was forced to drop the huge wooden frame and regroup. Haynes narrowly won a superb final heat race with Flynn and the Dark Horse celebrated his win with great enthusiasm, fully aware of the significance of his performance. After three events there was just a point separating second-placed Flynn from Haynes, with Kane just behind. Hicks and Glasscock were 4-points adrift on 23 points each.

Shoulder pain caused by several bicep tears prevented Hicks from threatening the win in the Log Press for Reps and he managed a relatively modest 5-reps with the 150kg implement. But even a fully fit Hixxy in his prime would have struggled to match the pressing power of Jack Osborne who blasted through nine one-motion reps with time and easily enough energy for a 10^th. A four-way tie for second place with 6-reps included Glasscock, Francis, Paul Smith, and crucially, Andrew Flynn, with Haynes only managing to lift 5 repetitions. This moved Flynn into a 2.5-point lead going into the final event showdown in the Sandbag Medley.

Zack Hill set the early pace in what was a hugely demanding final event, given the pace and nature of the preceding four events. The former England U20 and Saracens rugby star made all four loads of the 150kg bags in 38.66 seconds. Ben Glasscock went quicker, as did Kane Francis and as the final pairing lined up on the start line Haynes knew that nothing short of a winning time would suffice and in addition, Flynn would need to go slower than both Glasscock and Francis.

Haynes exploded through the course with total commitment and though Flynn made no errors, a 4.5 second gap was opened that was to give Paddy not just the event win, but the overall victory as well. It was a stunning performance from a man who is quite literally the sports fastest rising star. It gave the packed York Barbican the most thrilling of finishes to what was a hugely exciting Weekend of Strength, with Britain’s Strongest Woman contested the night before. Haynes’s first major title will surely precipitate the winning of many more, though with the likes of Flynn, Francis and Glasscock hot on his heels, there’s surely more equally entertaining clashes coming up in the very near future!

England’s Strongest Man 2025 will still be available to stream through www.officialstrongman.com

Event Results

Event 1: MIRAFIT Deadlift Ladder

Bar weights: 320kg, 340kg, 360kg, 380kg, 75-second time limit

Event 2: SBD Shield Carry

Shield weight: 200kg, maximum distance, no time limit

Event 3: VITAKICK Super Yoke

Yoke weight: 420kg, 20m course, 60-second time limit

Event 4: BADRHINO Log Press for Reps

Log weight: 150kg, 60-second time limit

Event 5: CASTLE WATER Sandbag Medley

Sandbag weights: 2 x 150kg. 20m course, hurdle at 10m, 75-second time limit