Sickest weightlifting injuries including snap ‘like gun going off' that crowd could hear as World's Strongest Man begins

Scottish Sun

15-05-2025

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
STRONGMAN competitions see some of the world's most powerful people test themselves to the absolute limits.
The sheer strength they display leaves us mere mortals absolutely baffled.
26
The World's Strongest Man competition sees superhuman feats of power
Credit: Getty
26
But it does not always go to plan - with some horrendous injuries
Credit: AFP or licensors
But, unsurprisingly, it doesn't always go to plan.
And when the athletes are pushing their bodies to such extremes, the injuries can be utterly horrific.
So as the World's Strongest Man 2025 rolls into Sacramento, SunSport rounds up some of the worst, most gruesome and simply disgusting injuries ever seen from the strongman stars.
And please, please, please take note, this really is not for the faint-hearted…
Don't say I didn't warn you…
LAURENCE SHAHLAEI - LAT TEAR
We will start with one that is one of the easiest to look at.
Laurence Shahlaei was attempting a 446kg deadlift when his lat popped and the muscle completely ripped, forcing him to jump up and back in agony.
Shahlaei reckons he could have matched the great Eddie Hall on that day but ended up with grim purple bruising across his side.
26
Laurence Shahlaei tore his lat doing a deadlift
Credit: YouTube
26
The bruising was not a good look on his holiday a few days later
Credit: YouTube
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
GARY TAYLOR - TYRE CRUSH
During 1997's Europe's Strongest Man, Gary Taylor was attempting the 450kg tyre flip.
But it all went wrong as he lost control and the tyre slipped.
26
Gary Taylor got crushed under a 450kg tyre
Credit: YouTube
26
It took four men to lift the tyre off him
Credit: YouTube
26
Taylor was wheeled into an ambulance receiving gas and air
Credit: YouTube
Former homeless World's Strongest Man competitor shows his intense training as he bids for success in the USA
Taylor ended up crushed underneath the tyre and was forced to retire as he was taken away on a stretcher to an ambulance on gas and air.
MARK PHILIPPI - STONE CIRCLE STRUGGLES
The first of two Mark Philippi entrants came in the stone circle, where strongmen had to lift a metal pole attached to a basket of stones.
But Philippi had to quit when his legs buckled underneath the weight - as a woman, possibly his partner, ran over in shock.
He was later spotted helped away with the biggest strapping we think we have ever seen around a knee.
26
Mark Philippi collapsed on the stone circle
Credit: YouTube
26
He was quickly tended to as he lay prone
Credit: YouTube
26
The strapping around his knee was massive
Credit: YouTube
MARK PHILIPPI - CRUSHED BY CAR
His other shocking injury came previously when Philippi was flipping a car in the sand.
But he could not hold it any longer and the car fell down on his left knee, which was folded.
The car tore his patella tendon, leaving him in utter agony - and yet he managed to come back and compete a year later.
26
Philippi trapped his bent knee under a car
Credit: YouTube
26
He tore his patella tendon in the incident
Credit: YouTube
PHIL ROBERTS - SHATTERED LEG
Next, we go to two injuries suffered in the concrete Atlas Stones.
Phil Roberts shattered his leg at Britain's Strongest Man in 2019 in sickening scenes.
Roberts needed a metal cage put around his legs and skin grafts as part of his recovery.
26
Phil Roberts shattered his leg at Britain's Strongest Man in 2019
Credit: YouTube
26
He needed skin grafts and a metal cage after the Atlas Stones disaster
Credit: YouTube
CRAIG BONGELLI - LEGS CRUMBLE
Similarly, Craig Bongelli crumbled under the weight of the Atlas Stones.
On his tip toes, Bongelli couldn't quite lift it up on to the plinth and suddenly he completely gave way.
The rather disturbing video shows him collapsing with his legs folding underneath him and the stone almost landing on his head.
Arguably the incident to watch but somehow and thankfully, Bongelli did not suffer any serious long-term injuries.
26
Craig Bongelli could not get the Atlas Stone on the plinth
Credit: YouTube
26
The concrete ball fell down on him as his legs crumbled
Credit: YouTube
LAURENCE SHAHLAEI - RUPTURED ACHILLES
Heading back to Shahlaei - and the injury that ended his career.
The Brit was running with a 610kg yoke - his best record-breaking event - while competing at World's Strongest Man in 2019 when his Achilles completely snapped.
Shahlaei said: 'This ended me. People heard it, it was like a gun going off. Instant pain, instantly sent to the floor like a sack of s***. I was absolutely devastated.
'It was like I was getting shot in the leg. All you can do is collapse.'
26
Shahlaei's Achilles snapped in terrifying scenes
Credit: YouTube
26
People were able to hear the pop which sounded like a gunshot
Credit: YouTube
THOR - PEC WRECK
You didn't think we would have a list without Hafþor Julius Bjornsson - aka Thor - on this list, did you?
The Icelandic Game of Thrones giant goes in after ripping his pectoral muscle off the bone as he attempted to bench press a personal best 252.5kg during a competition at his Thor Power Gym.
Thor immediately let out a yelp as he lowered the bar down and knew something was seriously wrong.
Powerlifter Scot Mendelson suffered essentially the same injury during a bench press, too - but the photo of the bruising is totally shocking and barely believable.
26
Thor ripped his pec while attempting a bench press PB
Credit: INSTAGRAM @WORLDSSTRONGESTFAN
26
He sports a massive scar after the surgery
Credit: Instagram / @thorbjornsson
26
The bruising was pretty bad
Credit: https://www.instagram.com/thorbjornsson/?hl=en
26
The bruising on powerlifter Scot Mendelson's pec injury was totally staggering
EDDIE HALL 1 - CRUSHED PENIS & 'NEARLY BLEEDING TO DEATH'
And lastly, it is time for Thor's bitter rival Hall - with four of his own entries included.
The worst-sounding is his crushed penis.
Hall managed to drop weights down on his manhood causing serious bleeding and needing to rush himself to hospital.
Hall told The Mirror in 2019: "I piled a load of heavy weights on a leg-press machine and then heard a loud thud. It had come crashing down and the weights had landed on my penis.
"I nearly bled to death. It was bad. The worst ever.
'I didn't cry for help though. I just lifted them off, drove myself to hospital and got stitched up. I was back training soon enough."
26
Eddie Hall has suffered his fair share of gruesome injuries over the years
Credit: Getty
EDDIE HALL 2 - POPPED EYEBALL
Sticking with Hall, he also managed to sustain a popped eyeball during a monster leg press.
He explained to JOE: "Bam! Eyeball just comes out of my face. Put the apparatus back, run to the mirror. The eyeball just came the other side of my eyelid.
"F****** it was bad. We're moving it back in. Red as f***. Couldn't see out of it, but carried on with my session."
26
He once had an eye pop out during a gym session
Credit: Instagram eddiehallwsm
EDDIE HALL 3 - BLEEDING FROM EARS, EYES & NOSE
The Beast went to great lengths to become the first man to deadlift half a tonne in 2016.
So much so that blood vessels in his head burst as he passed out.
Hall said: "My blood pressure was through the roof, up to three times what it should have been.
"Your body makes you collapse to keep you alive. I barely remember the lift because of the blackout.
"I woke up with a big puddle of blood on the floor. How much blood came out my face was unreal. It was coming out my eyes, nose, ears, the lot."
26
Hall bled from his eyes, ears and nose when blood vessels burst in his head during a record-breaking deadlift
Credit: YouTube
EDDIE HALL 4 - DETACHED BICEP
And last but by no means least painful was when Hall managed to detach his bicep.
During a boxing sparring session, he threw a left hook and knew something had happened, collapsing to the canvas in expletive-laden agony, screaming: "F***. No. I've torn my bicep. It's off. F***, f***ing sake. It's gone."
Hall documented the aftermath of the injury including undergoing surgery while still awake for his YouTube channel.
Ouch.