Brian Shaw is absurdly strong. The four-time World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion has been training aggressively in preparation for the 2020 WSM competition taking place on Nov. 11-15, 2020, in Bradenton, FL. With less than two weeks until the world gets to watch Shaw go for his record-tying fifth WSM title (Mariusz Pudzianowski of Poland currently has five), the strongman from Colorado has been going hard in the gym.
Check out Shaw’s absolutely massive 1,091-pound (494.8-kilogram) deadlift off of blocks in the video below from his YouTube channel. For context on just how heavy this weight is, it is 13.5 pounds shy of 2018 WSM champion Hafthor Bjornsson‘s current all-time world record (which was lifted from the floor while wearing a lifting suit).
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The 2017 WSM champion Eddie Hall predicted that Brian Shaw would win the 2020 WSM man contest. Hall’s clairvoyance may come to fruition as the roster for this year’s competition has been upended with the withdrawals or retirements of WSM’s highest placing athletes in recent years.
Hall retired from strongman after claiming his title in 2017, and Bjornsson followed suit earlier this year after winning his tenth consecutive Iceland’s Strongest Man title. Then, 2019 WSM champion Martins Licis confirmed he would not compete in the 2020 WSM contest to properly recover from injuries sustained after getting hit by a car while riding his bike.
On Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020, Mateusz Kieliszkowski — the WSM runner-up the past two years — had to withdraw from the 2020 contest due to a triceps injury.
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Despite major changes to the WSM roster, Shaw has stayed the course in his training. He has mentioned previously on his YouTube channel that he isn’t concerned about who the other strongmen competing are and is focused on bringing the best effort he can. It looks like he’s staying true to his word.
Featured image from Brian Shaw’s YouTube Channel
