Britain’s Strongest Man 2025 Preview
A new season of the Giants Live Arena Tour gets underway on Saturday in the Steel City of Sheffield. Britain’s Strongest Man, the oldest and most respected national title in Strongman, kicks off at the Utilita Arena. It is the first of seven shows that will bring the world’s best strongmen and women to the nation’s best arenas.
From the Strongman Classic in London’s Royal Albert Hall, to the World Tour Finals in Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, the Giants Live tour takes in Europe’s Strongest Man at the First Direct Arena, Leeds, the Strongman Open from the Utilita Arena, Birmingham, as well as Britain’s Strongest Woman and England’s Strongest Man from York’s Barbican.
The top three from each contest will each receive invites to the 2025 World’s Strongest Man contest which will be held in Sacramento from 15th -18th May. This year’s competitors will also be fighting it out for the World Deadlift and Log Lift Championships, which have seen the likes of Eddie Hall and Mitchell Hooper set World Records in front of 10,000 strong audiences.
Twelve of the country’s strongest and most powerful athletes will be in Sheffield to test their mettle and vie for the British title. And to commemorate the life of one of the world’s greatest strength athletes, following his passing last year, this year’s winner will be presented with the Geoff Capes Memorial Trophy.
Third title for Bish?
Capes was the inaugural winner forty-six years ago and won three British titles in all. Attempting to emulate that feat and join a list of just five men to have claimed three or more wins will be England’s Adam Bishop, now recovered from the Achilles rupture he sustained at World’s last year. Bish won his second title in 2023, but was thwarted by Tom Stoltman last season and could only look on as the Albatross added his name to that illustrious list in taking a third crown.
There has not been a winner in Sheffield, other than Tom and Adam, since Graham Hicks took the title back in 2019. But Tom’s absence this year in no way makes an Adam Bishop victory a formality. Big brother Luke Stoltman, having scooped a second Europe’s Strongest Man win last April, will be looking to keep the trophy north of the border and pick up the title which is so far missing from his impressive list of achievements.
The Highland Oak was in some of the best form of his life last season, reaching the World’s Strongest Man final for the 5th time, in addition to his European title. 5th at the Rogue Invitational and 4th at the World Tour Finals were strong results in stacked fields and Luke shows no signs of slowing down having now reached the ripe age of 40. He has finished 3rd at Britain’s twice and is arguably the best British strongman to have never won the title. Could this be his year?
Another man who has shown excellent recent form is England’s Luke Richardson. He is the second Europe’s Strongest Man winner in the line-up and a man who was dubbed “The Future” before injury nearly brought his Strongman career to a premature end. Two years of rehab and re-injury now look to be behind the former powerlifting world champion who made podium finishes at both the Strongman Open and World Tour Finals at the back end of last year.
Luke was 4th at his only previous appearance at Britain’s, back in 2020 and that same year he lifted the European title and qualified for the World’s Strongest Man final. A podium finish in Sheffield will be squarely in his sights and few would be surprised to see the 27-year-old atop the podium at the end of the evening.
One man who has come close to topping the podium on two occasions is the Welsh Bull, Gavin Bilton, who was second in 2024 and 2023. At 6-foot, 6-inches and over 27-stones, the former rugby player will be just about the largest competitor in this year’s contest. With a massive 430kg deadlift on his CV he should score highly in the Deadlift Ladder, as well as the Castle Stones – an event he’s produced some scintillating runs in.
Another superb stone lifter, and a man who is more than capable of threatening the podium, is England’s Shane Flowers. A World’s Strongest Man competitor who has previously podiumed at Giants Live, Flower Power was 4th in Sheffield in both 2022 and last year. On that occasion his stone lifting powers deserted him and cost him what looked like a certain medal placing. At Europe’s Strongest Man, however, he won the event with a blistering 18.53 second 5-stone run.
Andrew Flynn makes his BSM debut after placing 2nd at England’s Strongest Man last season. The Brighton man placed 7th at the Strongman Classic last season, so won’t be overawed by anyone in this field. Paddy Haynes made his debut last year, finishing 10th and has twice podiumed at England’s. At the 2024 Strongman Open he produced 7-reps with the 350kg axle, which was bettered only by Mitchell Hooper. A good omen for the Deadlift Ladder! Sean Gillen, a two-time Ireland’s Strongest Man, returns to Britain’s, having placed 9th last year. The Culdaff native is an SBD World Log Lift Champion, holding the Irish record with a 200kg lift, so should perform strongly in Event 4: Log Lift for reps.
Three more men who will be making their debuts are Scotland’s Chris “The Beef” Beetham, the reigning Wales’s Strongest Man, Matt Dimond, and England’s Ben Glasscock, who finished 2nd at last season’s OSG European Championships. Rounding off the twelve-man field will be Andy Black, a two-time Scotland’s Strongest Man and World’s Strongest Man competitor who has twice finished 6th at Britain’s. Andy returns to the Giants Live stage after being a regular face from 2021-2022
Event 1: Sandbag Steeplechase
This event was included in the heats at World’s Strongest Man last season, and this year Darren Sadler and his events crew have made it even harder, with three 150kg sacks now to be lifted and loaded. Fatigue will be acute for the athletes who must heft these massive sacks over the 1.2m hurdle halfway down the 15m course and then load them onto the plinths. Pace on the returns is crucial, but so too is the speed at which the strongmen pick these awkward bags from the floor.
Luke Stoltman produced a fast time at the 2023 World Tour Finals, so too did Paddy Haynes at the 2023 Official Strongman Games European Championships, coming withing 0.02s of the win. There are some quick men in the line-up, so expect to see the traditionally fast loaders, such as Bishop and Richardson, pushed by the likes of Haynes and Flynn.
Event 2: MiraFit Deadlift Ladder
Last contested at the 2024 Europe’s Strongest Man, this will be the heaviest Deadlift Ladder ever seen at Giants Live, with the implements ranging from 300kg to 400kg. While this event will favour the statically strong, the speed at which these athletes can apply their straps and pull the barbells is also a major factor. A few may even opt to go without and save time by relying on grip strength alone.
Adam Bishop is about the best in the world at this – no one was quicker from any of the heats at World’s Strongest Man last year. Bilton and Flowers are massive pullers and should score well, as undoubtedly will Luke Richardson.
Event 3: Duck Walk into Farmer’s Carry
The third event on the roster is a new variation of some traditional Strongman carrying disciplines. The athletes will race head-to-head with two separate carries: the lighter Duck Walk will be by far the more awkward, but in the Farmer’s Carry, grip may be the determining factor with quicker athletes regularly getting overhauled by slower movers with stronger mitts!
Paddy Haynes is renowned for his grip and should figure here, as should Stoltman. It’s the kind of event where someone unexpected could well upset the form book and take some big points. The Duck Walk will be 200kg and the Farmer’s implement are expected to weigh 150kg each.
Event 4: Log Press for Reps
At 160kg, these logs will push the athletes to the limit and could potentially put an end to the challenge of some of tonight’s contenders. There are some phenomenal log lifters in this line-up, not least Luke Stoltman, who holds the British record, and Sean Gillen who has the Irish. Fatigue will play a huge factor too. By event 4, the athletes will be feeling the pace and with 25-stones of wooden log pressing down on their chests, catching their breath will be no easy task!
Event 5: Castle Water Stones
The 120kg – 200kg set will face the athletes in the final event. Paired off in reverse order of overall standings, the final duo will know exactly what they need to do to take the title. As always, with the stones, much can go wrong. tacky can run out, stones can fall off their plinths and often the athletes themselves can simply run out of gas.
Shane Flowers, on his day, is as quick as any in this field, but with no Tom Stoltman this event is there to be won, and several men will be in with a shout. Gavin Bilton, Luke Stoltman and Luke Richardson are all highly capable stone lifters, as is Adam Bishop. Andy Black, a few seasons ago, was almost unbeatable in this discipline. He’ll be keen to remind the Sheffield crowd what he’s capable of!
Tickets for what never fails to be one of Strongman’s most hard-fought and thrilling contests are available at www.giants-live.com