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| Born | 1965 Dudley, Worcestershire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Strongman, Bodybuilder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Adrian Rollinson (born 1965) is a British strongman competitor, notable for being a repeat competitor at the World's Strongest Man. [2] [3]
Adrian Rollinson was born in 1965 in Dudley. He came to prominence in strongman circles relatively late when he made the finals of Britain's Strongest Man in 1999, though he did not earn a place on the podium. In 2000 he won a Geoff Capes UK Strongest Man heat to qualify for the UK's Strongest Man 2000 show. For a long while, the top five placed athletes from Britain's Strongest Man qualified for the finals of the World's Strongest Man and Rollinson found himself thrown in with the world's best in 2000 at the finals in South Africa. He appeared three more times in the WSM, after strong finishes in Britain's Strongest Man ("BSM"). In 2004 he came second in the BSM but ironically came closer to the title in 2005, at which he finished third. In this 2005 BSM, the title was decided by the three top scoring competitors racing in a Farmer's Walk event. Rollinson had dominated the entire competition prior to that, being the only man to complete the Atlas Stones and having pressed 9 reps on the log press. However, for the top three, prior points were discarded in favour of the Farmer's Walk . Mick Gosling won the event and Rollinson, not known for his speed, came third. This would prove to be his final BSM. In addition to these major competitions, Rollinson also took second spot in the Iceland's Strongest Man tournament as a guest. After his retirement he remains active as a promoter of tournaments, notably the nationally renowned "Mighty Midlander" contest.
Outside of strongman, Rollinson worked as a roadworker in his native Dudley. [4] He landed a role as a Gyptian bodyguard in 2007 in the movie, The Golden Compass , the Hollywood adaptation of the first in Philip Pullman's trilogy, His Dark Materials. He filmed five scenes in London just before Christmas 2007 but did not meet the principle stars Daniel Craig or Nicole Kidman. He did film with Eva Green, Tom Courtenay and Jim Carter. [4] [5]
The World's Strongest Man is an international strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of December each year. Competitors qualify based on placing in the top three at the four to eight Giants Live events each year. The current event sponsor is SBD Apparel. Previous sponsors include Tachi Palace, Coregenx, Commerce Hotel and Casino, DAF Trucks, Tonka, MET-Rx, and PartyPoker.com.
Strength athletics, also known as Strongman competitions, is a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of non-traditional ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerlifters have also successfully competed in strongman competitions. However, strongman events also test physical endurance to a degree not found in powerlifting or other strength-based sports, such as carrying refrigerators, flipping truck tires, and pulling vehicles with a rope.
Geoffrey Lewis Capes is a British former shot putter, strongman and professional Highland Games competitor.
Britain's Strongest Man is an annual strongman event held in the United Kingdom. Competitors qualify for the final through regional heats and the winner is awarded the title of "Britain's Strongest Man". The competition is produced by TWI and serves as a qualifying event for the World's Strongest Man ("WSM") competition, also a TWI production.
Terry Hollands is a British bodybuilder and the winner of the 2bros Pro Luke Sandoe Classic Beginners Class 2019 bodybuilding championships. Hollands is also a retired strongman competitor and a past winner of Britain's Strongest Man, the UK's Strongest Man, and England's Strongest Man competitions. He's also a Europe's Strongest Man silver (2010) & bronze (2017) medalist, a two time World's Strongest Man bronze medalist, a two time Arnold Strongman Classic 8th-place winner, a World's Ultimate Strongman 9th-place winner (2018), and the 5th most prolific strongman contestant in history having competed in more than 90 international competitions, winning 4 of them throughout 17 years. With 12 international event wins, Hollands is noted for his vehicle pulling skills, making him the 7th best vehicle puller in strongman history. He was nicknamed Terry 'The Tank' Hollands or 'Big Tel'.
Jimmy Marku is an Albanian-born British strongman competitor.
Mark Felix is a Grenadian-English strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition. He has competed at a record 18 World's Strongest Man contests, reaching the finals three times. He is the winner of the 2015 Ultimate Strongman Masters World Championships, 2016 WSF World Cup India and has won numerous international grip contests, including the Rolling Thunder World Championships in 2008 and 2009, as well as the Vice Grip Viking Challenge in 2011 and 2012. Having competed in over 100 international competitions throughout 19 years, Felix is the 3rd most prolific strongman contestant in history.
Strength athletics in the United Kingdom and Ireland has a long history going back many centuries before the televisation of strongman competitions in the 1970s. The ancient heritage of the sport in the United Kingdom and Ireland lies in a number of traditional events, the most famous of which is arguably the traditional Highland Games, which itself is a source of many events now practised in modern strongman competitions, such as World's Strongest Man and International Federation of Strength Athletes (IFSA) sponsored events. However, the traditional events still are popularly contested events today. In the more modern phenomenon that is the World's Strongest Man and its associated competitions, the United Kingdom and Ireland remain well represented with Glenn Ross, Terry Hollands, Eddie Hall and John Ryan Cappalahan, with regular appearances at world finals, and with three men having won the title of World's Strongest Man, as well as Shane Davis Cappalahan appearing in eight final events.
Giants Live was created in 2009 as the official Tour that qualifies strongmen to compete in the annual World's Strongest Man contest. At each Grand Prix, up to twelve international strongmen come together and compete over six events. The top three at each contest will receive an invitation to compete at the World's Strongest Man contest for that same year.
The Beauty and The Beast Strongman Challenge, also known as the Beauty and The Beast World Strongman Challenge was a short-lived annual strongman competition that was notable for the calibre of the entrants it attracted, as well as for the reputation it attained in a short amount of time.
The World's Strongest Man 2009 was the 32nd edition of World's Strongest Man and took place in Valletta, Malta from 26 September to 3 October 2009. It was sponsored by PartyPoker.com. It was anticipated by the strength athletics world as promising to be "the best one yet." The anticipation was based on the organisers ensuring invites were made to "every top athlete in the world" regardless of their affiliation to any particular strength athletics body. In previous years, the schism between the International Federation of Strength Athletes and the organisers of WSM had meant that certain athletes were forbidden to compete, undermining the credentials of the competition.
Laurence Cristiaan David Shahlaei is an English YouTuber, strength sports commentator, analyst, coach, and a retired strongman and powerlifting competitor. Shahlaei is a winner of England's Strongest Man, Britain's Strongest Man and Europe's Strongest Man competitions, and an 11 time entrant and 5 time finalist of the prestigious World's Strongest Man competition.
Strength athletics in Iceland refers to the participation of Icelandic competitors and the holding of Icelandic events in the modern phenomenon of strength athletics inaugurated by the World's Strongest Man. The sport's roots have a long and ancient history going back many centuries with the legends of Orm Storolfsson and Grettir Ásmundarson to the 19th century traditional strongmen including Snorri Björnsson, Brynjólfur Eggertsson and Gunnar Salómonsson; before the televisation of strongman competitions in the late 1970s.
Bill Pittuck is a British strongman competitor, notable for having won both major British titles and having been a repeat competitor at the World's Strongest Man, as well as achieving a high standing in the World Muscle Power Classic.
Mark Westaby is a British strongman competitor, notable for being a repeat competitor at the World's Strongest Man.
Rob Dixon is a British former strongman competitor, and a current ultramarathon runner. Dixon is notable for having won the major British title and having been a repeat competitor at the World's Strongest Man.
Fraser Tranter is a British strongman competitor, most notable for his appearance at the 1998 World's Strongest Man, as well as his podium finishes in the 1997 and 1998 UK Strongman Docklands Challenge, a national strength athletics competition which at the time held equivalent status to Britain's Strongest Man.
Chris Gearing is a British strongman competitor, notable for having won the England's Strongest Man title and having competed at the World's Strongest Man.
Tom Stoltman is a British professional strongman competitor, from Invergordon, Scotland. He was the winner of the World's Strongest Man title two consecutive times in 2021 and 2022. He also won the national title Britain's Strongest Man on the same years. Nicknamed "The Albatross" due to his sizeable arm span, Stoltman is known for his prowess with the Atlas Stones. In 2020, Stoltman broke the world record for the 5 Atlas Stones 100–180 kilograms (220–397 lb) in just 16.01 seconds; he also holds the world record for the heaviest Atlas stone ever lifted over a 4 ft bar at 286 kilograms (631 lb).
Luke Bernard Stoltman is a Scottish professional strongman competitor, 5 time winner of Scotland’s Strongest Man and 2021 Europe’s Strongest Man champion. Renowned for his static shoulder strength, Luke currently holds the British Log Press record. Along with younger brother, Tom Stoltman, the two are widely regarded as the strongest brothers in history and are the only ones to both qualify for the World’s Strongest Man finals; a feat they have managed in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
