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 (220–397 lb), completing them 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).
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. 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 as the 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".
Early life
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. 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. 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.
Strongman career
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. 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 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.
Stoltman ranked 5th at the 2019 WSM and 3rd at WUS,. 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. 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.
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. Stoltman also won Britain's Strongest Man in 2021, the same year in which his brother Luke won Europe's Strongest Man. 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.
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 had 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. During the show, Tom won the Hummer Deadlift event where he pulled 499 kilograms (1,100 lb). 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. He then finished 7th at the Strongest Man on Earth in Colarado. Due to injuries Stoltman had to pull out of the US Strongman Championships in Vegas mid competition. He finished the year finishing 2nd at the Rogue Invitational in Aberdeen.
Personal life
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. Stoltman married wife Sinead in 2015 and is a supporter of Rangers.
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.
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".
Other ventures
Gym
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. 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.
Health and fitness brand
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. All clothing is sold via the Stoltman brothers website and their shop which they opened in Invergordon in 2022.
Stoltman Strength Academy
The Stoltman brothers in 2022 set up their own strength training academy.
Media
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.
Publications and other media
The brothers released an autobiographical book, "Lifting: Becoming the World's Strongest Brothers", in 2023.
Luke and Tom both feature and narrate in Coach Mike Chadwick's The Red On Revolution book, published in 2022.
Personal records
Strongman:
- Equipped Deadlift – 430 kg (948 lb) (with suit) (2019 World's Ultimate Strongman)
- Raw Deadlift – 408.5 kg (901 lb) (without a suit and with straps) (2024 Strongest Man on Earth)
- Elephant bar Raw Deadlift – 415.5 kg (916 lb) (Raw) (2024 Arnold Strongman Classic)
- Equipped Deadlift for reps – 400 kg (882 lb) x 5 reps (with suit) (2024 Britain's Strongest man)
- Hummer Tyre Deadlift (15 in off the floor) – 499 kg (1,100 lb) (2023 Shaw Classic)
- Silver Dollar Deadlift (18 in off the floor) – 478 kg (1,054 lb) (2020 World's Strongest man)
- Double T Squat (with multi-ply suit) – 391 kg (862 lb) (2022 Arnold Strongman Classic)
- Giant Barbell Squat (for reps) – 340 kg (750 lb) × 5 reps (single-ply suit w/ wraps) (2019 World's Strongest Man)
- Log Press – 210 kg (463 lb) (2023 World Tour Finals)
- Log Press for reps – 163 kg (359 lb) x 10 reps in 90s (2023 Rogue Invitational)
- Axle Press – 210 kg (463 lb) (2024 World's Strongest Man)
- Flintstone Barbell press – 240 kg (529 lb) (2022 World's Strongest Man)
- Monster Dumbbell Press - 132 kg (291 lb) (2023 World's Strongest Man) (British record)
- Keg toss – 15 kg (33 lb) over 7.76 m (25 ft 51⁄2 in) (2024 World's Strongest Man) (former joint-world record)
- Manhood Stone (Max Atlas Stone) – 286 kg (631 lb) (2020 World's Ultimate Strongman, Feats of Strength series) (World Record) Tom has also broken this world record 2 times before, with 256.5 kg (565 lb) and 273 kg (602 lb) at 2020 Rogue record breakers event held during the Arnold Strongman Classic
- 5 Atlas Stones run (heavy set) – 120–200 kg (265–441 lb) 21.57 seconds (2022 Britain's Strongest man)
- 5 Atlas Stones run (light set) – 100–180 kg (220–397 lb) 16.01 seconds (2020 Britain's Strongest man) (World Record)
- 10 Atlas Stones run – 100–200 kg (220–441 lb) 40.70 seconds (2019 World's Ultimate Strongman) (World Record)
- Ardblair Stones – 9 stones ranging from 18–152 kg (40–335 lb) loaded onto 4 ft 4 in (52 in) whiskey barrels in 21.81 seconds (2019 Blairgowrie & Rattray Highland Games) (World Record)
- Inver Stones (hitching post setup) – 5 Stones weighing 125–191 kg (276–421 lb) in 29.16 seconds (2021 Rogue Invitational)
- Inver Stone press – 136 kg (300 lb) (2024 Arnold Strongman Classic) (Joint-World Record)
- Shield carry – 200 kg (441 lb) 65.3 m (214 ft) (2022 Britain's Strongest Man) (World Record)
Training:
- Deadlift – 420 kg (930 lb) × 2
- Axle Deadlift – 400 kg (880 lb)
- Log Press – 215 kg (474 lb)
- Squat – 345 kg (761 lb)
Powerlifting:
- Squat – 325 kg (717 lb)
- Bench Press – 220 kg (490 lb)
- Deadlift – 360 kg (790 lb)
- Total – 905 kg (1,995 lb)
Competitive record
Winning percentage: 12.50%
Podium percentage: 50.00%
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Podium | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International competitions | 4 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 32 |
References
- ^ "Tom Stoltman". World's Strongest Man. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ "About Stoltman Brothers". YouTube.
- ^ Sunderland, Tom (18 January 2020). "Britain's Strongest Man 2020 Results". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- Blechman, Phil (5 August 2021). "Watch Strongman Tom Stoltman Lap A 300-Kilogram Atlas Stone". BarBend. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- Gutman, Andrew (20 June 2021). "Tom Stoltman Wins 2021 World's Strongest Man — Day 5 Results And Recap". BarBend. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- Blechman, Phil (8 February 2022). "Strongman Tom Stoltman: "Autism Is A Superpower"". BarBend. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- Henderson, Michelle (13 February 2020). "Highland Strongman Tom Stoltman opens up about his journey to success". The Press & Journal. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ "Tom 'The Albatross' Stoltman". www.stoltmanbrothers.com. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- Egelstaff, Susan (18 January 2020). "From prospective Rangers player to strongman". Herald Scotland. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- "UK's Strongest Man 2017 Results". Ultimate Strongman. August 2017. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- "2018 WUS Dubai". Strongman Archives. 26 October 2018. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- Zubair, Aiman (15 November 2020). "2019 Worlds Strongest Man Final Results". Fitness Volt. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- Magnante, Matthew (26 October 2019). "Mateusz Kieliszkowski Gets Victory At 2019 World's Ultimate Strongman Competition". Fitness Volt. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- Gutman, Andrew (24 May 2022). "2021 World's Strongest Man Results And Leaderboard — Tom Stoltman Wins". BarBend. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- "The Strongest Brothers In History - Meet The 'Stoltman Brothers'". Giants Live. 1 December 2021. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- "Scot Tom Stoltman retains World's Strongest Man title". BBC News. 30 May 2022. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ Lockridge, Roger (20 August 2023). "2023 Shaw Classic Results — Brian Shaw Is the Strongest Man on Earth". BarBend. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- Blechman, Phil (19 January 2022). "Tom And Luke Stoltman Teach Their Younger Brother Harry How To Train Like A Strongman". BarBend. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- "Congratulations Tom Stoltman!". www.rangers.co.uk. 22 May 2022. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- McAlley, Nicola (24 June 2021). "My late mum inspired me to take World's Strongest Man title". STV News. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023.
- Speirs, Kathleen (22 December 2021). "World's strongest brothers honoured on signpost for hometown Invergordon". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- Rooney, Richard (6 July 2018). "Scotland's strongest man to open public gym in Easter Ross home town". The Press & Journal. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- Walker, Peter A. (4 January 2023). "World's strongest brothers partner Primal to upgrade Highlands training facility". insider.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- Merritt, Mike (25 February 2022). "Stoltman brothers throw weight behind Ukraine in support of fellow strongman". The Press & Journal. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- MacKenzie, Hector (11 September 2022). "Strongman brothers Luke and Tom Stoltman in Invergordon pop-up shop venture". RossShire Journal. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- Kemp, Rob (20 April 2023). "The Stoltman Brothers' Guide To Getting Stronger". Men's Fitness. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- Harkiss, Niall (29 July 2023). "'Inspirational' strongman brothers greeted by queues of fans at Inverness book signing". The Inverness Courier. Archived from the original on 3 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- Chadwick, Mike (12 April 2022). "The Red On Revolution". Audible. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023.
- "2019 WUS Dubai". Strongman Archives. 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
- Blechman, Phil (15 November 2020). "Oleksii Novikov Leads 2020 World's Strongest Man Finals After Day One". BarBend. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
- "2022 Arnold Strongman Classic". Strongman Archives. 5 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
- Zeglinski, Robert (25 April 2023). "Tom Stoltman "Gave Everything He Had" to Defend World's Strongest Man Title, Came Up Second". Breaking Muscle. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- Tao, David (22 September 2020). "Strongman Tom Stoltman Lifts World Record 286kg/630lb Atlas Stone Over Bar". BarBend. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- Lockridge, Roger (26 February 2022). "2022 Britain's Strongest Man Results — Tom Stoltman Defends His Title". BarBend. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- "420KG DEADLIFT vs 380KG SQUAT?!" (Video). YouTube. Stoltman Brothers. 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
See from 9:20 to 9:40
- "Tom Stoltman NEW SQUAT RECORD!! 345KG/760LB" (Video). YouTube. Stoltman Brothers. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
See from 11:24 to 11:44
- ^ "Tom Stoltman". Open Powerlifting. 10 December 2017. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
External links
- Official website - www.stoltmanbrothers.com
- WSM 2021 - An interview with the World's strongest brothers
- Back-Muscles.com - Top Secrets of the Tom Stoltman Strongman
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