World's Strongest Man 2025 Results, Rayno Nel Leads After Saturday's Day 2 Events

Day 1 of the 2025 World's Strongest Man competition is officially in the books, with Rayno Nel sitting atop the leaderboard and holding a seven-point advantage over the rest of the field.

Day 1 Results

1. Rayno Nel (South Africa): 36 points
2. Mitchell Hooper (Canada): 29 points
3. Tom Stoltman (Scotland): 27 points
4. Paddy Haynes (England): 26 points
5. Trey Mitchell (United States): 20 points
6. Ondrej Fojtu (Czech Republic): 20 points
7. Eddie Williams (Australia): 18.5 points
8. Shane Flowers (England): 17 points
9. Luke Stoltman (Scotland): 14 points
10. Pavlo Kordiyaka (Ukraine): 12.5 points

Nel's strong start is especially impressive considering he's participating in his first World's Strongest Man. He also owns a lead over 2023 WSM champion Mitchell Hooper as well as three-time WSM champion Tom Stoltman.

Stoltman's most recent victory came in 2024.

The 10 competitors participated in three events on Saturday including the Knaack Carry & Hoist, 18" Max Deadlift and Hercules Hold.

In the Knaack Carry & Hoist, each competitor was required to Zercher carry 400-pound Knaack toolboxes for 50 feet before arm-over-arm hoisting 600 pounds up 30 feet. Nel won the event by completing it in 30.58 seconds.

He also finished No. 2 with three reps in the 18" Max Deadlift and secured a runner-up result in the Hercules Hold by keeping two pillars upright next to him for just over one minute and 15 seconds.

Hooper and Stoltman both finished strong in the Knaack Carry & Hoist as well, but they couldn't keep up with Nel in the other two events.

A new World's Strongest Man will be crowned on Sunday as action wraps up with the Flintstone Barbell and Atlas Stones.