Tom Ryan Stoltman (born 30 May 1994) is a British professional strongman competitor, from Invergordon, Scotland. He is a three time winner of the World's Strongest Man in 2021, 2022, and 2024. He also won the national title of 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 (light set) 100–180 kilograms (220–400 lb) in just 16.01 seconds; he also holds the world record for the heaviest Atlas stone ever lifted over a 1.22 metres (4.0 ft) bar at 286 kilograms (631 lb). [2] [3]
On 20 June 2021, Stoltman won the 2021 World's Strongest Man competition, becoming the first man from Scotland to win the World's Strongest Man and the fifth British person to do so. [4] On 29 May 2022, Stoltman won the 2022 World's Strongest Man, becoming only the second Briton to win two titles (37 years after Geoff Capes) and the first to win back to back titles. In the 2023 World's Strongest Man, he emerged runner up behind Mitchell Hooper, and then in the 2024 World's Strongest Man he reclaimed his title, becoming the only Briton to have won three World's Strongest Man titles.
Tom Stoltman is the younger brother of the two-time Europe's Strongest Man and five-time Scotland's Strongest Man, Luke Stoltman, with whom he runs their YouTube channel The Stoltman Brothers.
Tom Stoltman was born in Invergordon, Ross and Cromarty to parents Ben and Sheila, ten years after his older brother and fellow strongman competitor Luke. He was diagnosed with autism at the age of 5. [5] [6] [7] Tom attended Newmore Primary School and Invergordon Academy in the Scottish Highlands where he developed his passion for playing football. As a result of his performances in the school football team, Stoltman was invited to Ross County and Rangers youth set up for trials. [8] Inspired by Luke's success as Scotland's Strongest Man, Stoltman switched his attention to weight training in the local gym at the age of 16. Within a year, he was showing such potential that Luke decided to take him under his wing and guide him through training for strongman. [7]
Aged 18, Stoltman entered and won his first competition, Highlands Strongest Man. This was followed by success at the Scotland's Strongest Man (SSM) qualifier where he subsequently placed 5th in the main event. [7] In 2015 Stoltman reached the podium of SSM, finishing second only to his elder brother Luke the next three years in a row.
2017 was seen as Stoltman's breakout year: he finished second in the UK's Strongest Man competition [9] behind reigning Europe's Strongest Man, Laurence Shahlaei, and placed 6th at Britain's Strongest Man (BSM). These performances gained him an invitation to his first World's Strongest Man, but he withdrew from the competition after the first two events in the heats. This was followed up by taking his first SSM win ahead of Luke in 2018, and an 8th-place finish at the World's Ultimate Strongman (WUS) in Dubai the same year. [10] [7]
Stoltman ranked 5th at the 2019 WSM and 3rd at WUS,. [11] [12] He also won his second SSM trophy and a podium finish at BSM. In 2020 Stoltman returned to the World's Strongest Man finals in Florida, finishing in second place after a low scoring finish in the Hercules Hold. [7] At BSM in the same year, Stoltman took 2nd place and broke the world record for the Giants Live light set of 100–180 kilograms (220–400 lb) Castle Stones in 16.01 seconds. [2]
In 2021, Stoltman won the 2021 World's Strongest Man title in Sacramento, California. He won two of the first five events, placing him in first ahead of four-time winner Brian Shaw going into the final event. The win was sealed with Stoltman completing the Atlas Stone (140–210 kilograms (310–460 lb)) run in 20.21 seconds, taking the event win and overall title to Scotland for the first time in the competition's history. [13] Stoltman also won Britain's Strongest Man in 2021, the same year in which his brother Luke won Europe's Strongest Man. [14] Stoltman ended his season coming 2nd place at the Rogue Invitational.
In 2022, Stoltman successfully defended his BSM title at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England. At World's Strongest Man, Stoltman took first in his heat, winning the first 4 events. In the final, Stoltman faced three former winners: four-time winner Shaw, 2019 winner Martins Licis, and 2020 winner Oleksiy Novikov. Stoltman won by a margin of 10.5 points, becoming only the second Briton to win two titles, 37 years after Geoff Capes and the first ever to win back to back titles. [15]
After a brief period away from competing, in 2023, Stoltman came in 2nd place in the 2023 WSM, behind champion Mitchell Hooper. He followed this up by beating Hooper at their next competition, Giants Live Strongman Classic at the Royal Albert Hall though was pipped to first place by 0.5 points. At the 2023 Shaw Classic Stoltman made a slow start, picking up 0 points on the first event, but went on to win 3 of the 4 events on day 2, more event wins than any other competitor, and reach the podium. [16] During the show, Tom won the Hummer Deadlift event where he pulled 499 kilograms (1,100 lb). [16] Stoltman rounded off his 2023 season winning the World Tour Finals in his native country at Glasgow and finishing 2nd at the Rogue Invitational.
In 2024, Stoltman started his season by winning Britain's Strongest Man for the 3rd time. He then finished 3rd at the Arnold Strongman Classic continuing his podium streak. He also regained the title of Worlds Strongest Man from Mitchell Hooper, making it his 3rd Worlds Strongest Man title and 5th podium appearance. Stoltman finished 2nd at the Strongman Classic at the Royal Albert Hall in July.
Stoltman is one of five siblings, all of whom live in and around their hometown of Invergordon close to their father, Ben. Stoltman's youngest brother Harry works for the Stoltman Brothers' business and is currently training to compete in strongman competition. [17] Stoltman married wife Sinead in 2015 and is a supporter of Rangers. [18]
Stoltman's mother Sheila died aged 56 in 2016. Stoltman and his brother Luke regularly cite their mother's influence as key to inspiring them to succeed in their careers. [19]
In 2021, a permanent tribute to Stoltman and brother Luke was installed by Invergordon Community Council in their hometown, where the signs at the entrances to Invergordon were updated to include their names and achievements. The sign reads "Welcome to Invergordon. Hometown of the Stoltman Brothers. World, European and UK Strongest Men". [20]
In 2018, alongside brother Luke, Stoltman opened a commercial gym, The Stoltman Strength Centre, in Invergordon. This was originally a joint venture with another party though is now fully owned by the Stoltman Brothers Ltd. The brothers use the facility for the majority of their training, having originally trained in Luke's home gym in his garage. [21] In 2023 the brothers announced a partnership with Glasgow based commercial strength equipment brand Primal. As part of the deal, the Stoltman Strength Centre received a significant upgrade and redesign to become a state of the art facility. [22]
As the popularity of the brothers has risen through their achievements and media presence, they began to sell Stoltman Brothers branded merchandise via an online shop. Original offerings were primarily focused around images of the brothers; however this has now been built up to include more everyday lifestyle clothing with Stoltman branding, 'motivational' apparel featuring some of the company/brothers' values and quotes, and more recently a collaboration with other strongmen where t-shirts with the athletes images are produced. [23] All clothing is sold via the Stoltman brothers website and their shop which they opened in Invergordon in 2022. [24]
The Stoltman brothers in 2022 set up their own strength training academy. [25]
Together with brother Luke, Stoltman has a YouTube channel through which they show training and competition footage, partake in various challenges, and provide an insight to everyday life for professional strongmen athletes. The brothers regularly collaborate on the channel with other well-known health and fitness personalities and YouTubers, with Eddie Hall, Matt Does Fitness, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Larry Wheels all having featured.
The brothers released an autobiographical book, "Lifting: Becoming the World's Strongest Brothers", in 2023. [26]
Luke and Tom both feature and narrate in Coach Mike Chadwick's The Red On Revolution book, published in 2022. [27]
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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.
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.
Brian Shaw is an American retired professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all-time. He won the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016 World's Strongest Man, making him one of only five men to win the World’s Strongest Man four times or more. In 2011, Shaw became the first man to win the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World's Strongest Man competitions in the same calendar year, a feat he replicated in 2015. With 27 international competition wins, he is the fourth most decorated strongman in history behind Lithuania's Žydrūnas Savickas, Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski and Iceland's Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is an Icelandic professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person to have won the Arnold Strongman Classic, the Europe's Strongest Man, and the World's Strongest Man competitions in the same calendar year and holds numerous Strongman titles from multiple strength federations, including multiple world records. With 30 international competition wins, he is the third most decorated strongman in history, behind Lithuania's Žydrūnas Savickas and Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski, and in terms of pure brute strength, many strength analysts and strongman experts regard Hafþór as "the strongest man to have ever lived".
Edward Stephen Hall is a British media personality and retired strongman. He is best known for his world-record setting 500 kg (1,102 lb) deadlift in 2016 which is widely regarded as one of the greatest feats in the history of strongmen. He is also known for winning the 2017 World's Strongest Man competition.
Graham Hicks is an English strongman and powerlifter. He won the 2019 Britain's Strongest Man competition and placed second in 2014 and 2018. He is also a two time Europe's Strongest Man bronze medalist.
Mateusz Kieliszkowski is a Polish strongman competitor, notable for winning the 2019 World's Ultimate Strongman competition. He is also a two-time World's Strongest Man runner-up, three-time Arnold Strongman Classic runner-up, one time Europe's Strongest Man runner-up, and five-times Poland's Strongest Man.
Martins Licis is an American professional strongman, notable for winning 2019 World's Strongest Man, 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, and 2021 Rogue Invitational strongman championships.
The 2019 World's Strongest Man was the 42nd edition of the World's Strongest Man competition. It took place in Bradenton, Florida between June 13 and 16. Martins Licis of the United States won the competition for the first time in his career. Mateusz Kieliszkowski of Poland finished second for the second year in a row. Defending champion Hafthor Julius Bjornsson of Iceland finished third, having suffered a torn plantar fascia during the qualifying heats that hampered him throughout the finals.
Luke Bernard Stoltman is a Scottish professional strongman competitor, who won the Scotland’s Strongest Man competition five times and Europe’s Strongest Man competition two times in 2021 and 2024. He has also participated in the World's Strongest Man competition nine times and has reached the finals five times. 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, 2023 and 2024.
World's Ultimate Strongman was an annual strongman competition which was held from 2018 to 2021 with the participation of top strongmen from all over the world, determining who is the strongest man in the world. The event was noted for its brute-strength-centricity and expanded the sport to a wider audience outside of Europe and USA. It also introduced the 'feats of strength' series in 2020, ensuring the continuous expansion of the sport during the Covid-19 pandemic. The competition has a number of rival and parallel competitions, including the World's Strongest Man, the Arnold Strongman Classic and the Giants Live Tour.
Adam Bishop is a professional strongman and two-time winner of the Britain's Strongest Man competition. Bishop refers to himself in the media as "one of the little guys" in the sport, despite weighing over 300lbs. Bishop has also competed in rugby, where he played as a winger, and in skeleton bobsleigh.
Oleksii Novikov is a Ukrainian professional strongman. He won the 2020 World's Strongest Man competition, becoming the second Ukrainian to win the title since Vasyl Virastyuk in 2004, and at 24 years, 278 days, he is also the second youngest winner in history, being only seven days elder than Jón Páll Sigmarsson in 1984. He is also a two time World's Ultimate Strongman, the 2022 Rogue Invitational champion, and the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man.
The 2020 World's Strongest Man was the 43rd edition of the World's Strongest Man competition. It took place in Bradenton, Florida between November 11 and 15. Oleksii Novikov of Ukraine won the competition for the first time in his career, with Tom Stoltman of Great Britain taking second and Jean-François Caron of Canada taking third. At 24 years old, Novikov is the youngest man to win the event since Jón Páll Sigmarsson in 1984.
The 2021 World's Strongest Man was the 44th edition of the World's Strongest Man competition, an event that took place in Sacramento, California from June 15 to June 20, 2021. The defending champion was Oleksii Novikov of Ukraine, though he failed to progress to the final after coming fourth in his heat. In so doing, he became the first World's Strongest Man reigning champion to compete at the following year's event and fail to qualify for the final since Magnús Ver Magnússon in the 1997 competition. The contest was won by Tom Stoltman who improved on his second place finish the previous year. Four-time champion Brian Shaw came second, returning to the podium after a 2 year absence, and Canada's Maxime Boudreault came third.
The 2022 World's Strongest Man was the 45th edition of the World's Strongest Man competition, an event that took place in Sacramento, California from May 24 to May 29, 2022. The contest was won by Tom Stoltman with this being his second consecutive title. Joining him on the podium were the 2019 and 2020 World's Strongest Man winners, Martins Licis and Oleksii Novikov respectively, who tied on points. In the event of a draw, the higher placing athlete in the last event, in this case Licis in the Atlas Stones, wins the tie-breaker.
Maxime Boudreault is a Canadian professional strongman competitor from Kapuskasing, Ontario. He secured 3rd place in the 2021 World's Strongest Man competition in Sacramento, California, won the inaugural 'Magnús Ver Magnússon Strongman Classic' competition in 2021 in Iceland, and won the 2022 Canada's Strongest Man competition.
Mitchell Hooper is a Canadian strongman and kinesiologist. He secured 1st place at the 2023 World's Strongest Man competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he also became the first Canadian to win the title of World's Strongest Man. He is also the winner of both the 2023 and 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic events. In 2023, he became the fourth person to win both the World’s Strongest Man and Arnold Strongman Classic competitions in the same year.
Charles "Trey" Mitchell III is a professional strongman from Lumberton, Texas. Standing 6'4" tall and known by his nickname "Big Tex", he is most notable for winning the Shaw Classic strongman championship two consecutive times in 2021 and 2022.
The 2024 World's Strongest Man was the 47th World's Strongest Man competition that took place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from May 1 to 5, 2024.
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