Underdown on Top in York

Reigniting her rivalry with three-time World’s Strongest Woman, Rebecca Roberts, she placed top three in all five of the evening’s events to claim her third British title with a 4.5-point winning margin over Roberts. Joining them on the podium was reigning England’s Strongest Woman, Grace Hilbourne.

At last year’s contest, Underdown claimed the title without winning a single event and she must have felt history might be repeating itself as she lost out to Roberts in the first two events in which the pair went head-to-head. Roberts, the current Europe’s Strongest Woman, looked a class apart in the Dumbbell Medley, becoming the only competitor to complete all 7 lifts, up to the 70kg final implement. Moving to Event 2: Farmer’s Carry, she was in a league of her own as she distanced Underdown by over 7-seconds, making the tremendously awkward 100kg anvils look no more of a hindrance than a pair of lightweight cabin bags!

Event 3: Trump Bar Deadlift for Reps, proved to be the turning point for Underdown’s title bid. As the current women’s deadlift world record holder, few would have expected her to do anything but claim her first event win, and she did just that with a comfortable 4-reps at the 280kg bar, looking good for many more if she’d needed to. With both Claire Myler and Grace Hilbourne also achieving reps at the heavier barbell, Roberts’ decision to attempt reps at the 240kg implement meant she was limiting herself to a placing no higher than 4^th and eventually finished 5^th behind England’s Naomi Hadley.

Taking a 2-point lead into the Stone to Shoulder, Lucy had the luxury of knowing exactly what she had to beat. It was an event in which most of the competitor’s struggled, with only three of the field achieving a valid repetition. Several competitors were able to get the 110kg Atlas Stone to their chest and shoulders but were unable to stabilise the stone sufficiently to clearly remove the second supporting arm and earn a referee’s down signal. For Underdown, however, it looked plain sailing as she confidently shouldered the granite orb twice to take her second event win. With just the Sandbag Steeplechase remaining there appeared to be plenty of energy in the tank after taking a brace of event wins whilst expending minimal effort.

Two 100kg sacks and a 1.2m hurdle was all that separated Underdown from a third Britain’s Strongest Woman title in succession as she lined up with Roberts in the fifth and final pairing. With a 3.5-point cushion she could afford to take a measured approach but was still able to distance Roberts and place 3^rd overall behind Hilbourne and Hadley to consolidate a 4.5-point winning margin over Rebecca. The pair, who enjoy the friendliest of competitive rivalries, were full of mutual respect and received well-deserved acclaim from the York crowd as two of the world’s finest strength athletes.

Having placed just 12^th at last year’s contest, it would have been easy to overlook Grace Hilbourne’s chances of joining Underdown and Roberts on the podium. The two-time English champion has made huge forward strides, however, and was able to move through the field to take 3^rd overall and claim an impressive event victory in the Sandbag Steeplechase with a winning time that was nearly 4-seconds clear of second-placed Naomi Hadley – last year’s overall bronze medallist.

Hilbourne made a good start to her campaign with a solid result in the Dumbbell Medley but could do no better than 9^th in the Farmer’s. leaving herself with much to do if she was to overhaul the likes of Hadley, Claire Myler, and three-times World’s Strongest Woman, Donna Moore, who were now well clear of her in the overall standings. She was able to regain points on all but Myler in the Trump Deadlift and then distance herself from her closest rivals after securing a crucial single rep in the Stone to Shoulder – a feat only her, Roberts and Underdown were able to achieve.

Hadley’s second place finish in the Sandbag Steeplechase saw her overtake Myler by a single point to claim 4^th overall – a result she was not overly impressed with after conceding she made mistakes, especially in the Stone to Shoulder, where she seemed to move the implement  with ease, but was unable to balance it to complete a valid rep.

Donna Moore improved on her 7^th-place from last season, to take 6^th in the overall standings, achieving a best event finish, unsurprisingly in a discipline in which she is a former world record holder, of 3^rd in the Dumbbell Medley. Having won her first World’s Strongest Woman title some ten years ago, Moore is now a Master’s athlete but is still able to mix it with the Open competitors. She was 6-points clear of Scotland’s Rachel Greener and England’s Michaela Pearson who tied for 7^th. Greener was second at Scotland’s Strongest Woman behind Nicola Bennett but was able to get the better of her compatriot on this occasion, enjoying her best event result in the Sandbag Medley, in which she was 5^th.

Pearson’s 6^th place finishes in the Dumbbell and Farmer’s were her best results, helping the English Master’s champion to distance 9^th placed Sam Taylor, who is Wales’s Strongest Woman, by a single point. Footing the line-up was Bennett, the Scottish champ, who was below her best in what was a highly demanding and fast-paced contest – the fastest ever Giants Live contest, in fact, with all five events completed in just 3.5 hours.

In her post-contest interview, a well-satisfied Underdown spoke of her future plans both in and out of the sport and of “unfinished business.” Not content with becoming the first woman in history to deadlift 700lb, she now wants to target the 800lb barrier, in what would be a feat so far ahead of her competitors as to be almost ridiculous! Mentioning that the rewards would need to be considerable to risk putting her body on the line for such a monumental lift, she also seemed to hint at a not too distant end to her strongwoman career as she considers her wider future. With a World’s Strongest Woman title all that eludes her, in what has been an incredible career thus far, Underdown’s sights look to be zeroed in on the very highest achievements the sport can offer!

Britain’s Strongest Woman 2026 will still be available to stream through www.officialstrongman.com

Event Results

Event 1: COMMA Dumbbell Medley

Dumbbell weights: 40kg x 2-reps, 50kg x 2-reps, 60kg x 2-reps, 70kg x 1-rep, 75-seconds time limit

Event 2: SBD Farmer’s Carry

Implement weights: 100kg in each hand, 30m course, 60-second time limit

Event 3: IRONRHINO Trump Bar Deadlift

Barbell weights: 240kg and 280kg, 75-second time limit

Event 4: CASTLE WATER Stone to Shoulder

Stone weight: 110kg, 60-second time limit

Event 5: MIRAFIT Sandbag Steeplechase

Sandbag weights: 2 x 100kg, 20m carry, 1.2m barrier at 10m, 60-second time limit