Worldโs Strongest Man 2021 Results: Tom Stoltman Earns 1st Career Win at Event
There was probably more drama than he hoped for in the final day of competition, but Tom Stoltman is the world's strongest man.
The 27-year-old won the title Sunday in Sacramento, California, by holding off a late charge from second-place finisher Brian Shaw and third-place finisher Maxime Boudreault. Stoltman finished in second place last year, but defending champion Oleksii Novikov did not even advance to the final round out of qualifying this time around.
It didn't look like there would be an exciting finish entering the competition Sunday after Stoltman cruised through the first day of the finals.
He won the Giant's Medley and Titan's Turntable and then tied for second in the Keg Toss event.
Andrew Gutman of Barbend noted Stoltman's seven-point lead was the largest in World's Strongest Man history after two events. Even after Shaw set the record with a keg toss of 7.75 meters, Stoltman still led by 5.5 points.
That cushion proved critical because Shaw cut the lead to a single point after the Log Lift and KNAACK Deadlift.ย
However, the final event of the Atlas Stones just so happened to be Stoltman's speciality. Gutman noted he is nicknamed "The King of Stones" and looked the part by loading all five stones that weighed between 310 and 465 pounds in a mere 20.21 seconds.
Stoltman's brother, Luke, finished in seventh.
"If I didn't have Luke, I wouldn't be sitting here as World's Strongest Man," the victor said, per Emily Adams of USA Today. "He is the one that keeps my head up when I'm performing not the best, and he helps me get through to the finish, which is exactly what he did today."
Adams noted Stoltman also fulfilled a promise to win the event that he made his mother, who died five years ago.
"My mom was the reason," Stoltman said. "When I make I promise, I want to fulfill that promise. I just used the adrenaline, and her and my family back home as well. I just put it all up into one big ball and use that to help me get over the [finish] line."
It was that last push in the final event that gave him the title.
