Four-time World’s Strongest Man and three-time Arnold Strongman Classic champion Brian Shaw released a Q&A video on his Shaw Strength YouTube channel and in that video he addressed rumors about the Arnold Strongman Classic.
Shaw finished second at the Arnold Strongman USA to champion Martins Licis. As a result, he failed to qualify for the 2020 ASC. Ever since that contest, there has been rumors that Arnold Schwarzenegger would invite him to Columbus to compete for a fourth title.
“Based on the qualification system I did not qualify so I have not, and I will say this again, I have not by Arnold or anybody else that is with the Arnold, no one has reached out to me, I just want to make this very clear, I would not accept the invite to compete in Ohio strictly based on the fact that I wouldn’t feel right about it because I did not qualify based on the system that was in place.”
The 2020 contest in Columbus would be the first time since 2009 that Shaw has not been a part of the ASC. Shaw did address his competitive future and sees a silver lining in this setback.
“What I will say is stepping back I personally think that things happen for a reason and really think that I have been given a golden opportunity to not have to train for the Arnold’s and now can focus solely on training for the World’s Strongest Man which literally in my career I have never been able to do. I have never been able to not train for the Arnold and only train for the World’s Strongest Man and peaking for the World’s Strongest Man since the contest move in closer.”
He is referencing to when the World’s Strongest Man contest used to take place in September which last happened in 2012. Shaw competed in both major contests every year from 2010-2019. The last time he competed in the WSM and not the ASC was in 2009. He placed 3rd in that contest. With his renewed focus on earning his fifth World’s Strongest Man title, he expressed his commitment to being at his best for the 2020 contest.
“My measuring stick is how many World’s Strongest Man titles I have won in my career when I’m done. I’ve won the Arnold three times. I have won 10 or 11 other Arnolds, like collectively, around the world but I don’t say that to anybody. I say that I’ve won the World’s Strongest Man four times and that’s it. So for me, at this point in my career, adding a fifth World’s Strongest Man title, I would pick that over anything else.”
The 2020 World’s Strongest Man takes place May 20th-24th in Bradenton, Florida. Licis is the defending champion. Shaw finishes the answer with a vow to his fans.
“I will without a doubt, I promise you, I will come into World’s Strongest Man better than I have been in a long, long, time. My focus is only on that and I’m promising you guys that I’m going to bring the best package to that competition that I possibly can.”
Featured Image: Instagram/shawstrength
