The 2021 Britain’s Strongest Man will be aired in the UK and Ireland on Channel 5 from 7pm to 8pm on Wednesday 22nd December.
Britain’s Strongest Man is a part of the 11 x 1-hour programmes that make up the World’s Strongest Man TV series. The first 5 of 11 shows in the series are the Giants Live contests that attempt to unearth the up-and-coming strongmen, as well as test the champion of the past.
The top 3 spots from each Giants live guarantee qualification to WSM each year.
The contest is held every year at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield. The 2022 competition date is set for Saturday 26th February. Tickets are now on sale!
No! Britain’s Strongest Man began in 1979 it was the original national championship of British strongman. The first episode was won by Geoff Capes of England. ‘’Britain’s Strongest Man’’ is without doubt the the most important and popular British title in existence.
Tom Stoltman is the firm favorite to win the 2021 Britain’s Strongest Man contest in 2021. “The Invergordon Goliath” hails from the Highlands of Scotland and placed second at the 2020 World’s Strongest Man Finals in Florida. He has never won the British title before but has a great chance of winning this year.
Tom Stoltman’s brother, Luke Stoltman is another man with an excellent chance of winning Britain’s Strongest Man. The two men are generally regarded as the strongest brothers in the world and older brother Luke has won Scotland’s Strongest Man 5 times.
Defending champion, Adam Bishop is another strong contender for the British championship. Having won the title last year, “Bish” will be reluctant to loosen his grip on the biggest title he has won in his career so far.
The only other former champion in the contest is Graham Hicks of England. Hicks won Britain’s Strongest Man in 2019, having been twice runner-up in 2018 and 2014. He is returning to the sport after a brief respite and is always a threat in any competition.
Britain’s Strongest Man 2021 is made up of 5 events which each athlete must complete. Points are awarded for placings in each event. The athlete at the end with the most points will be declared Britain’s Strongest Man. The events at BSM 2021 are dumbbell medley, super yoke, axle deadlift, loading race and the Castle Stones.
Stoke’s Eddie Hall has won the most Britain’s Strongest Man titles, more than any other man. “The Beast” won 5 consecutive titles from 2014 to 2018.
England’s Jamie Reeves won Britain’s Strongest Man a total of 4 times, in 1988, 1989, 1992 and 1998.
The next most prolific winner was Glenn Ross of Northern Ireland who captured BSM 3 times-in-a-row; from 2001 to 2003. England’s Geoff Capes triumphed at BSM in 1979, 1981 and 1983.
It is difficult to compare eras, however many people would agree that the greatest British Strongman of all time could well be Geoff Capes. Geoff Capes won World’s Strongest Man twice and Britain’s Strongest Man 3x times. Capes also won Europe’s Strongest Man 3 times.
No doubt Eddie Hall also has a solid claim to be considered Britain’s greatest ever strongman. Hall not only won the world’s strongest man title he reeled in a record 5 x British titles also.
Hall of Stoke also set numerous world records. Perhaps most notably was in the deadlift where In 2016 Eddie Hall deadlift 500kg (1100lb). He broke the record by 37kg (81lb in one night. This record has not been beaten in competition since.
The creators of Britain’s Strongest Man were Trans World International in 1979. TWI continued to run the contest until 2003. They have since been known as IMG Media and are perhaps better known as the creators and organizers of the World’s Strongest Man.
In 2005, the title was dropped by the then broadcaster, the BBC, who had lost interest in airing it. and to keep it alive it was licensed and produced by Colin Bryce. The property continued to be a promotion of Colin Bryce and latterly Giants Live, a company owned by Darren Sadler and Colin Bryce, to this day. The pair also competed at Britain’s Strongest Man in different years. Bryce came 7th in the Britain’s Strongest Man final of 1999. Darren Sadler qualified and competed at BSM on numerous occasions and in 2007 he managed a podium finish. He came third behind Mark Felix and the winner Terry Hollands.
Mark Felix never won Britain’s Strongest Man, but he was undoubtedly the closest to never win it. In 2006 on the Isle of Man the BSM title came down to countback. Oli Thompson and Mark Felix had drawn equal on points after the five events. Countback had been agreed to be used if a tie occurred and that meant Oli Thompson had more 1stplaces in events than Mark Felix did. So, Thompson was crowned the winner. Frustratingly for Felix, he had also won an IFSA UK title in 2005. However, the official Britain’s Strongest Man title that year was won by Mick Gosling.
Despite winning 5 gold trophies in-a-row the most decorated strongman at BSM is not Eddie Hall. It is in fact the evergreen Mark Felix, who has competed in 11 BSM contests in his time. Felix has more podium finishes than any other athlete. Felix has come close to winning it and can claim 4 x 2nd place trophies at WSM. Felix can also claim two 3rd place trophies as well meaning he has one more than Eddie Hall who only ever won gold.
