Latest news with #2025World'sStrongestMan
The South African
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Rayno Nel wins World's Strongest Man title: The dawn of the athletic era is HERE
History was made this weekend at the 2025 World's Strongest Man competition as South Africa's Rayno Nel, a former rugby player turned strongman, claimed the coveted title in his debut appearance. Nel became the first-ever winner from South Africa, the African continent, and the entire southern hemisphere – but more significantly, his victory could mark the dawn of a new athletic era in strongman competition. Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 148kg, the 30-year-old Nel powered through a stacked field featuring legends such as 3-time winner Tom Stoltman and pre-competition favourite, Mitchell Hooper. But it was Nel's speed, grip, and endurance that separated him from the pack. With fellow finalist Paddy Haynes, another debutant, also turning heads with his athleticism, 2025 may be remembered as the moment the sport pivoted toward function over brute strength. Nel's path to the title was anything but conventional. With only two years of strongman experience, he secured wildcard entry to the finals following dominant performances across the 2024 Strongman Champions League, including wins in Holland, Africa, and the World Finals. But even with his growing reputation, few expected him to dethrone the world's best at his first attempt. In the opening Carry and Hoist event – a combination of zercher carries and a heavy rope hoist – Nel completed the gruelling test in just 30 seconds. The top five finishers in the event included not only previous champions like Stoltman and Hooper, but also relative lightweights Haynes and Pavlo Kordiyaka, highlighting a clear edge for those with superior movement and speed. The second event, the 18-inch deadlift, provided a reminder that brute force still matters. American strongman Trey Mitchell set a new personal best with a monstrous 500kg pull – the heaviest lift of the competition. Nel followed closely with 490kg, and five more athletes topped 465kg. While mass remains a decisive factor in these static tests, Nel's ability to stay competitive despite a more mobile frame proved his versatility. Grip strength and grit: Williams stuns, Nel maintains In the third event – the Hercules Hold – Australia's Eddie Williams stunned the crowd by holding on for an eye-watering 82 seconds, a new world record. Studies have linked grip strength to the longevity of life, and if that's true, Williams may live forever! Nel again placed in the top tier, proving his resilience and consistency across contrasting disciplines. The only sign of vulnerability in Nel's campaign came in the Flintstone barbell overhead press, where Trey Mitchell and Tom Stoltman launched 241kg overhead with relative ease. Nel managed 188kg – well short of the leaders – but still enough to keep him in the running. It was a critical moment in the standings, and one that tested Nel's mental resilience as much as his physical strength. Heading into the final event, the iconic Atlas Stones, the standings were tight. Three-time champion Tom Stoltman, known globally as the 'King of the Stones', delivered a blistering performance, completing all five stones in just 31 seconds. Nel, under pressure, managed four stones in 30 seconds – not enough to win the event, but just enough to retain his lead and take the overall title by half a point. While Nel's win is a personal triumph, it also represents something larger: A shift in what it takes to win in modern strongman competition. With faster, more dynamic events making up the majority of the finals, athletes like Nel, Haynes, and Kordiyaka – who blend agility with power – are thriving. Paddy Haynes, a former runner from the UK, placed high across multiple events and was notably effective in disciplines requiring speed and conditioning. Despite lacking some of the top-end pressing power, he remained in contention throughout and now looks set to become a mainstay on the global circuit. With event design increasingly favouring mobility, athletic backgrounds like rugby, CrossFit, and track and field could become more common among future competitors. Nel, with his engineering mindset and rugby roots, exemplifies the evolving athlete profile. That said, traditional strength is far from obsolete. The likes of Mitchell Hooper, Tom Stoltman, and Trey Mitchell continue to dominate heavy lifts – and will remain title threats in years to come. But to win, future champions may need more than size. They'll need strategy, agility, and endurance too. Rayno Nel (South Africa) Tom Stoltman (Scotland) Michell Hooper (Canada) Trey Michell (USA) Paddy Haynes (England) For the first time in World's Strongest Man history, the 2025 competition introduced a controversial new scoring system where points from the heats carried over into the finals. Traditionally, all finalists start from zero, but this year, the top two from each group entered the final with a head start based on their heat performance – meaning Mitchell Hooper began with a commanding 10 points, while Eddie Williams started with just one. Rayno Nel, who would ultimately win, began with eight points, already two behind Hooper. While the final outcome remained the same – Nel took the title – the adjusted scoring significantly shifted the rest of the leaderboard. Under the old format, Paddy Haynes would have finished second overall and Tom Stoltman fourth. Though the system rewards consistency, critics argue it undermines the purity of the final showdown, where the best athlete over the final five events should emerge on top. While rolling points may encourage full effort in the heats, it also introduces an uneven playing field – one that second-placed Stoltman may support, and fifth-placed Haynes would surely challenge. Rayno Nel's win marks not just a historic moment for South Africa, but a potential turning point for the entire sport of World's Strongest Man. In a final packed with legends and newcomers, it was the blend of brains, brawn and balance that won out. Whether this signals a true changing of the guard remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the age of the athletic strongman is well and truly here. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
USA Today
19-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Rayno Nel wins 2025 World's Strongest Man, becoming first champion from Africa
Rayno Nel wins 2025 World's Strongest Man, becoming first champion from Africa For the first time, the World's Strongest Man hails from Africa. Rayno Nel, a South African rugby player turned strongman, held on to win Sunday in his World's Strongest Man debut — becoming the first man from outside Europe or Noth America to take the title in the competition's 48-year history. He is also the first rookie to win since 1997. "I'm just over the moon," he told USA TODAY Sports shortly after securing the title at the 2025 competition, held in Sacramento, California. "To represent (South Africa) in any way whatsoever, it feels surreal. I mean, we're a small country with a lot of struggles. To have something like this I know means a lot to my people." It was a stunning outcome, particularly given the circumstances — and the frantic finale. After building a sizable lead on the first day of the finals Saturday, Nel woke up Sunday morning knowing that his two worst events — including the storied Atlas Stones — were ahead of him. He also knew that the two men who had won each of the four previous Word's Strongest Man competitions were right behind him. "I think to have your two worst events coming up, that's one thing. But knowing that Mitch Hooper and Tom Stoltman are chasing you, with your worst events coming up, that's something different," Nel said. "I just tried to stay focused and do as much damage limitation as possible." Nel, 30, ultimately won by just half a point over Stoltman. Not bad for a guy who, at least as of three years ago, had only played rugby. "Rugby was what I thought I would do for my sport career. I didn't think I'd do any sport ever again," he said. "But I always had this competitive side to me, so when I stopped playing rugby, I knew I needed to do something competitive. That's just who I am." Nel, who is 6 feet 3 and weighs 326 pounds, has said he realized at one point that he had always had a bit more muscle over even larger opponents in rugby matches. So he decided to give strongman a try. He said he lucked out because his coach, Terence Bosman, had a world-class facility just a few miles from his house. "Although the strongman community is very small in South Africa, of the whole country, I lived 5 kilometers from the best place to train," Nel said. Though he had won continental strongman competitions before this week, Nel admitted that World's Strongest Man marked a massive step up. Of the 25 strongmen in the field, he had only competed against one of them before. He said it led to some nerves — errors — in the opening events. "Coming in, I won't say I was starstruck by everything, but World's Strongest Man is just such a big scene and competition," he said. "Luckily in the sport, I know what the other guys' numbers are. I know, pretty much, what they can do. So deep down, I knew there was a chance." Asked about how he would celebrate his win — and the history he made for his continent — Nel laughed. His only plan was to have a beer with his family, even if his preferred South African brand, Black Label, would likely be impossible to find. "I'll try out some American beer tonight," he said. Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @
