Britain's Strongest Man
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2008) |
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Location | United Kingdom |
Established | 1979 |
Number of tournaments | 41 |
Format | Multi-event competition |
Current champion | |
Tom Stoltman |
Britain's Strongest Man is an annual strongman event held in the
History and broadcast
In a history that has close parallels with that of the
In 1986, there was a "
Events
Events for the competition include tyre flips, chain drags, Atlas stones and keg tossing.[6]
Rival and parallel competitions
- In 2005 the 'IFSA Strongman British Championship' (or "British Championships (IFSA)") was held in direct competition with the BSM. However, this was short lived, lasting just one year, with the more established BSM gaining better sponsorship (from Met-Rx) and television coverage (Sky One) largely due to its longevity, its qualifying status for World's Strongest Man and also its perception amongst the strongman community as the chief competition. The winner of this breakaway competition, Mark Felix, has since put his energies into competing in the BSM.
- A more enduring rival competition is the UK Strongest Man'Ultimate Strength Challenge', which began in 1992 and still continues today. However, competing in the BSM and the UKSC is not mutually exclusive and competitors are free to compete in both. This event is run by the UKSC - the UK Strength Council, and focuses more on pure strength rather than strength and speed.
- Other rival or parallel competitions that should not be confused with the BSM are:
- "UK Championship (IFSA)", which only ran for one year in 1997
- "Britain's Most Powerful Man", which, although a "rival" in 2007, was last run in 1986, when there was no BSM and its winners are counted in the same list as the winners of the BSM
- ". However, it was not so much a rival of BSM as an extra competition.
- "
List of champions
- Notes
By country
Country | Titles |
---|---|
England | 31 |
Scotland | 5 |
Northern Ireland | 4 |
Wales | 1 |
Repeat champions
Champion | Times |
---|---|
Eddie Hall | 5 |
Jamie Reeves | 4 |
Geoff Capes | 3 |
Glenn Ross | 3 |
Tom Stoltman | 3 |
Richard Slaney | 2 |
Forbes Cowan | 2 |
Rich Gosling |
2 |
Laurence Shahlaei | 2 |
Adam Bishop | 2 |
Clash of the Giants
In 2011, an event was organised in Boroughbridge advertised to allow spectators to see "top British strongmen compete to take a step closer towards a place at World's Strongest Man". The event was organised by multiple World's Strongest Man entrant Darren Sadler and the top two places, won by Rob Frampton and Jack McIntosh, received invitations to North Carolina to compete at the 32nd World's Strongest Man. Clash of the Giants was designed to fill the void left by the absence of the Britain's Strongest Man competition last held in 2008, much as the 1988 John Smith's Trial of Strength had been created following the discontinuation of the BSM in 1984. Unlike the BSM, which is the final stage of a knockout competition comprising a number of regional and national rounds, the Clash of the Giants was a singular event. Because there was no regional tiered competition preceding, it there was no prerequisite that the Clash of the Giants have a field of athletes representing each area of Britain and notably all the athletes competing were English. In addition, the three most successful British strength athletes actively competing at the time, namely Hollands, Felix and Shahlaei, had qualified for the WSM via international grand prix events and did not compete.
See also
References
- ^ Retrieved from archive.org showing qualifiers
- ISBN 0-926888-06-4
- ^ a b "Britain's Strongest Man - UKGameshows". www.ukgameshows.com.
- ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | BRITAIN'S STRONGEST MAN (1979)". 12 February 2009. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009.
- ^ "My5".
- ^ "The World's Strongest Man". 26 July 2008. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008.
External links
- David Horne's World of Grip is the source of the names and placings of the above finalists and champions.