Tom Stoltman LOSES his crown as World's Strongest Man as Scot agonisingly pipped by just half a point
The Scot was going for an unprecedented fourth title and lost by the tightest of margins
STRONGARMED Tom Stoltman LOSES his crown as World's Strongest Man as Scot agonisingly pipped by just half a point
Tom Stoltman narrowly failed to become the World's Strongest Man for the fourth time after a dramatic last day of competition in the USA.
The Scot and his older brother Luke both won their qualifying groups in this year's competition in Sacramento.
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Tom Stoltman agonisingly missed out on being named World's Strongest Man
Credit: AFP
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The Scot came within half a point of the title
Credit: AFP
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He would have been the first man to win the crown four times
Credit: Alamy
But Tom finished second, coming just half-a-point and agonisingly close to retaining his crown.
Although he had lots of ground to make up going into the final day, sitting nine points behind leader South African Rayno Nel, Tom launched a huge comeback.
His six reps were unbeaten by anyone else, earning him 9.5 points – and giving him a 2.5 point deficit to make up on the final event, the Atlas Stones, his best event.
And he put in the top performance of any of the ten finalists – lifting five stones in 31.76 seconds.
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Overall, that put him on a points tally of 46.5, meaning Nel had to put in a top-three performance in the Atlas Stones to earn at least eight points to finish at the top of the standings.
Unfortunately for the Highlander, that is exactly what Nel did, lifting four stones in a time of 30.17 seconds to claim those eight points he needed.
Nel was just 0.85 seconds ahead of Canadian Mitchell Hooper, but every fraction of that time was crucial as Nel claimed the World's Strongest Man title on debut by half a point.
For Tom, though, he can at least celebrate a sixth podium place at the competition, moving him level on that front with fellow Brit Geoff Capes and Icelandic strongman Magnús Ver Magnússon.
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Brother Luke finished ninth on a total of 21.5 points.
The Invergordon brothers were two of 25 athletes from across the world who began the four day competition on Thursday.
World's Strongest Man launches new career
Tom, 30, regained his World Strongest Man title last year by 6.5 points from 2023 World Strongest Man Hooper.
He also won the World's Strongest Man title in 2021 and 2022 and has been in the final six times.
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Nicknamed The Highland Oak, Luke, 40, was appearing at the World's Strongest Man for the 10th time in his career and has appeared in the final five times.
His best position in the final has been seventh, three times in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
He has won Europe's Strongest Man twice in 2021 and 2024 and won Britain's Strongest Man for the first time in his career in February.
Known as "The Albatross", Tom is only the seventh man in history to win the World Stongest Man title at least three times.
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And in their home town in Easter Ross, the brothers have also been honoured.
The town's road sign reads: "Welcome to Invergordon, Hometown of the Stoltman Brothers - World, European and UK Strongest Men."
The signs were the brainchild of Invergordon Community Council, which was keen to honour the brothers.
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