Increasingly popular weight classes in Strongman have also attracted fans to their recent competitions. So, it is no surprise that the 2023 U105KG Britain’s Strongest Man competition turned out to be absolutely incredible. This show took place on September 10th in Bexleyheath, United Kingdom, and gathered 12 of the country’s strongest men who weigh under 105 kilograms (231.5 pounds). Following one day of restless action, William Relf came out victorious and took the crown.
William Relf won three of the five events, and put in a solid result in the other two as well. So, he finished the competition as the only man to accumulate over 50 points, thus becoming the champion.
2023 U105KG Britain’s Strongest Man Results
- William Relf — 50.5 points
- Scott McGowan — 46 points
- Boyd Francis — 44 points
- Christopher Harrison — 38 points
- Matthew Williams — 37 points
- Jon Mallon — 29 points
- Adam Groundrill — 28 points
- Jordan Rea — 24.5 points
- Mark Pearson — 18 points
- Andrew Lumley — 15 points
- John Hackett — 11 points
- Shaul Paul — 5 points
Related: 2023 U90KG UK’s Strongest Man Results — Gavin McNamee Victorious
Event One — Max Deadlift
The opening event of the 2023 U105KG Britain’s Strongest Man competition is pretty self-explanatory. The athletes competed in arguably the most iconic test of strength, the deadlift, where the only goal was to establish a one-rep max. The use of deadlift suits and lifting straps was allowed.
Although it was quite close and nerve-wracking, Christopher Harrison managed to reach full lockout with 360 kilograms to take the max 12 points at the start of the competition.
With just 5 kilograms less than Christopher, Matthew Williams took second place, separating himself from two men who tied for third with lifts of 350 kilograms.
- Christopher Harrison — 360 kilograms
- Matthew Williams — 355 kilograms
- William Relf — 350 kilograms (Tied-Third)
- Jordan Rea — 350 kilograms (Tied-Third)
- Scott McGowan — 340 kilograms (Tied-Fifth)
- Boyd Francis — 340 kilograms (Tied-Fifth)
- Andrew Lumley — 340 kilograms (Tied-Fifth)
- John Hackett — 320 kilograms
- Jon Mallon — 300 kilograms (Tied-Ninth)
- Adam Groundrill — 300 kilograms (Tied-Ninth)
- Shaul Paul — 300 kilograms (Tied-Ninth)
- Mark Pearson — No lift
Event Two — Press Medley
For the second event of the day, the athletes took on a test of shoulder strength, as they needed to overhead press four implements as quickly as possible. The time cap to do all four was 75 seconds.
First Implement: 120-kg Standard Barbell Press
Second Implement: 130-kg Axle Overhead Press
Third Implement: 140-kg Log Lift
Fourth Implement: 90-kg Dumbbell Overhead Press (One Arm)
Only one man was able to complete all the implements, as the fourth one proved to be too difficult for everyone else. Contrary to the rest, the fourth implement was the dumbbell, meaning it had to be lifted with only one arm. So, being the only man to successfully complete all four implements, William Relf claimed his first win of the 2023 U105KG Britain’s Strongest Man.
The battle for second place featured two men, both of whom successfully locked out the penultimate implement — the Log. So, having reached the same mark, it came down to who was faster. Scott McGowan thus took second place with a time of 13.98 seconds, while Boyd Francis finished in third, being almost four seconds slower.
- William Relf — 4 in 43.1 s
- Scott McGowan — 3 in 13.98 s
- Boyd Francis — 3 in 17.33 s
- Adam Groundrill — 2 in 12.54 s
- Jordan Rea — 2 in 13.22 s
- Jon Mallon — 2 in 14.88 s
- Christopher Harrison — 2 in 16.54 s
- Matthew Williams — 2 in 17.24 s
- Andrew Lumley — 2 in 19.31 s
- John Hackett — 1 in 5.69 s
- Mark Pearson — 1 in 7.73 s
- Shaul Paul — 1 in 8.03 s
Event Three — Farmer’s Walk Medley
Moving onto the third event of the 2023 U105KG Britain’s Strongest Man, the athletes found themselves facing a Farmer’s Walk. However, contrary to the usual format, where only one pair of implements is used, this competition featured two pairs. The first one weighed 150 kilograms, while the second one came out to 200 kilograms. So, the athletes had to carry the first pair of implements for 20 meters, then pick up the second pair and do the same.
Unfortunately, the exact results for the top five finishers in this event are not available. However, the list below features correct placements. So, Scott McGowan was the man who took the win.
- Scott McGowan — Exact Result Unavailable
- Christopher Harrison — Exact Result Unavailable
- Matthew Williams — Exact Result Unavailable
- Mark Pearson — Exact Result Unavailable
- Boyd Francis — Exact Result Unavailable
- Jordan Rea — 14.5 meters (First Implement)
- William Relf — 13.7 meters (First Implement)
- Adam Groundrill — 11.1 meters (First Implement)
- Andrew Lumley — 9.5 meters (First Implement)
- John Hackett — 5.6 meters (First Implement)
- Jon Mallon — 4 meters (First Implement)
- Shaul Paul — 3.3 meters (First Implement)
Event Four — Fixed Tire Flip for Reps
The penultimate event of the entire competition saw the athletes attempt to flip a humongous tire for as many times as possible. The size of the tire was absolutely mind-blowing, as it stood taller than many competitors and weighed 500 kilograms. The time given to the athletes for this event was 60 seconds.
William Relf claimed his second event victory of the day with five successful flips of the tire. He came up with a strategy that required him to first lift the tire onto one of his knees, after which he re-positioned his hands, making it easier for him to flip the tire.
Adam Groundrill fell one rep short of William, but his four repetitions were enough for a second place finish. Following the trend, with one rep less than Adam, Jon Mallon took third.
This event was perhaps the most difficult one of the entire batch for the 2023 U105KG Britain’s Strongest Man, since seven athletes couldn’t even flip the tire once.
- William Relf — 5 reps
- Adam Groundrill — 4 reps
- Jon Mallon — 3 reps
- Scott McGowan — 2 reps
- Boyd Francis — 1 rep
- Christopher Harrison — No lift
- Matthew Williams — No lift
- Jordan Rea — No lift
- Mark Pearson — No lift
- Andrew Lumley — No lift
- John Hackett — No lift
- Shaul Paul — No lift
Event Five — Atlas Stone
Only one Atlas Stone was used for the final event of the 2023 U105KG Britain’s Strongest Man competition, and it weighed 160 kilograms. So, the goal was to lift it over a 1.4-meter high beam, and repeat it for as many reps as possible.
A three way tie took place for the top spot, as Relf, Francis, and Williams all completed five repetitions. Relf was the happiest of the three, as this meant that he won the entire 2023 U105KG Britain’s Strongest Man competition.
- William Relf — 5 reps (Tied-First)
- Boyd Francis — 5 reps (Tied-First)
- Matthew Williams — 5 reps (Tied-First)
- Christopher Harrison — 3 reps
- Scott McGowan — 1 rep (Tied-Fifth)
- Jon Mallon — 1 rep (Tied-Fifth)
- Mark Pearson — 1 rep (Tied-Fifth)
- Adam Groundrill — No lift
- John Hackett — No lift
- Jordan Rea — Withdrew
- Andrew Lumley — Withdrew
- Shaul Paul — Withdrew
Watch William Relf’s entire performance here:
*William Relf posted all five events across the slides of his Instagram post below.
Related: 2023 England’s Strongest Man & Woman Results — Patrick Haynes & Naomi Hadley Win
William Relf already has quite a few respectable finishes in his career, with this being arguably the greatest one yet. He also took second place at the U105KG Europe’s, but hopes to surprise everyone at the 2023 U105KG World’s Strongest Man competition. It will take place in around three months from now, but William already looks like a beast.
Published: 13 September, 2023 | 10:05 AM EDT
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