‘Gentle giants’: World’s strongest men defy stereotypes
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Tom Stoltman of Britain competing in the natural stone medley at the World's Strongest Man competition on May 16.
PHOTO: AFP
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SACRAMENTO – Eddie Williams is a school teacher from Monday to Friday and a wedding singer on weekends. In his spare time, he lifts enormously heavy weights as he competes to be the world’s strongest man.
Some people think weightlifters are “a lot of angry people who just like to throw weight around”, the 190kg Australian told AFP, but “I can be, you know, a happy person, and still be able to lift heavy weights”.
Dripping with sweat after a Stone Medley – that is lifting very heavy stones – Williams insisted there is no contradiction between strength and likeability. His wife Hannah agreed.
“They’re these gentle giants that are just so lovely, such beautiful human beings that are caring and they’re all cheering for each other,” she said.
They were in Sacramento for the World’s Strongest Man competition, which took place from May 15 to 18.
Human colossuses like Williams, with sculpted backs, impossibly muscled arms and rippling thighs, compete by lifting objects up to twice their own weight – or more.
Mitchell Hooper, a 29-year-old former champion who has a master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology, agreed that people have a mistaken idea about competitive weightlifters.
People think “that we’re uneducated meatheads”, said the 145kg Canadian, whose nickname is “Moose”.
But he added, “a lot of guys have higher education and we train to compete strongly, because we just like to challenge ourselves”.
One man who clearly wanted to destroy stereotypes was American Rob Kearney, who dyed his hair and beard in rainbow colours for the competition and calls himself “the world’s strongest gay man”.
The 33-year-old, a former competitor attending the event in the state capital of California, said he wanted to “break some of those stereotypes of what (people) think masculinity is”.
“Strength isn’t just the amount of weight we can deadlift,” he said. “Strength is all about who you are as a person, how you hold yourself and how you support others.”
The World’s Strongest Man competition was first held in 1977 at Universal Studios in California.
The concept has remained the same, but over the years the sport has gained investors and enthusiasts, while becoming more professional, with world record-breaking feats thrown in.
The names of the individual events, such as Titan’s Toss, Atlas Stones, Flintstone Press and Hercules Hold, convey the magnitude of the challenges.
To build the enormous strength necessary, nutrition is vital, said 30-year-old Rayno Nel, a South African beginner in such competitions.
A graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering, Nel puts in long nights at the gym while following a complicated eating schedule aimed at providing him with 6,000 calories a day in meat and vegetables.
That takes sacrifice, he said, while quickly adding, “I love it”.
Once the competition is over, Nel plans to grab a burger and a beer. AFP
