Tom Stoltman is your 2021 World’s Strongest Man champion. After completing 12 events over five days in triple-digit temperatures in Sacramento, CA, the 27-year-old Stoltman has secured the ultimate prize in strongman after coming in second place at the 2020 World’s Strongest Man. Brian Shaw got second place, and Maxime Boudreault of Canada took third.
Trey Mitchell took the top spot in Group Two, and so Stoltman had to compete in the Stone Off against 55-year-old Mark Felix (whose grip strength was on display in the Pickaxe Hold event). The stone specialist Stoltman made his way to the Finals and then absolutely dominated day one with two first-place finishes in the Giant’s Medley and Titan’s Turntable. He then tied for second in the Keg Toss event. Stoltman set the record for the largest lead after two events — he was up by seven points. Though his lead narrowed after Shaw’s record-setting keg toss of 7.75 meters, Stoltman still lead by 5.5 points.
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Day two wasn’t Stoltman’s best showing, but he managed to hang onto his lead. After the Log Lift and KNAACK Deadlift, Stoltman led Shaw by just one point. The last event was the Atlas Stones, and considering one of Tom’s nicknames is “The King of Stones,” he walked away with the victory by loading all five stones, ranging from 310 to 465 pounds in 20.21 seconds. (Stoltman holds the current world record for the Stone Lift of 630-pounds.)
Here’s a recap of Stoltman’s performance.
2021 WSM Qualifying Stage
- Loading Medley — First place, 4 in 49.69
- Deadlift for Reps — Tied for first, 8 reps
- Train Push — Third place, 37.83
- Overhead Medley — Third, 4 in 38.02
- Pickaxe Hold — Third, 36.90
- Stone Off — Defeated Mark Felix with 5 stones
2021 WSM Finals Stage
- Giants Medley — First place, 18.36
- Titan’s Turntable — First place, 46.89
- Keg Toss — Tied for second, 7.5 meters
- Max Log Lift — Tied for ninth, 185 kilograms
- KNAACK Deadlift — Tied for third place, 8 reps
- Atlas Stones — First place, 5 stones in 20.21
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2020 World’s Strongest Man winner Oleksii Novikov of Ukraine notably didn’t make it to the Finals. He was tied with Kevin Faires for third in their qualifying group, but Faires’s superior Pickaxe Hold time (just two seconds longer than Novikov’s) resulted in him making the Stone Off. It was arguably the most shocking moment of the entire competition.
With this win, Tom Stoltman is the strongest man in the world — and, fun fact, tied with Brian Shaw as the third tallest man ever to win WSM at 6’8″. He is the 23rd man since the inception of the contest in 1977 to claim this prestigious title.
Featured Image Courtesy of World’s Strongest Man
