The 2025 Europe’s Strongest Man contest took place on April 5th in Leeds, England. It played out incredibly, turning out to be one of the most interesting shows of the season. It featured 12 of the greatest European Strongmen, making for a true battle of the titans. In the end, Luke Richardson came out victorious, taking home the coveted title.
The 2025 Europe’s Strongest Man was absolutely spectacular, with all of the athletes giving their all to secure valuable points. In turn, Mateusz Kieliszkowski took an early lead but ended up losing the top spot to Luke Richardson. However, going into the final event, the top four athletes were all within just 2.5 points, making the end even more interesting.
2025 Europe’s Strongest Man Results
- Luke Richardson — 51 points
- Paddy Haynes — 47.5 points
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 48.5 points
- Ondrej Fojtu — 46 points
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 34.5 points
- Andrew Flynn — 29 points
- Rauno Heinla — 27.5 points
- Pa O’Dwyer — 25.5 points
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 21.5 points
- Luke Stoltman — 20 points
- Nicolas Cambi — 20 points
- Gavin Bilton — 18 points
Related: 2025 Arnold Strongman Classic Results — Mitchell Hooper Wins
Event Recap
Event One — Press Medley
To start off the day, the athletes took on the Press Medley. As the name suggests, they had to pick up and lift a series of implements, varying in both shape and weight. That included Dumbbells, a Yoke Press, Log Lift, and Axle Press. The goal was to perform two reps on each implement in the shortest time possible.
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Only three men managed to complete the event, with all others struggling to even reach the final implement. It was Mateusz Kieliszkowski who locked in the fastest time, finishing all implements in just 62.09 seconds. In turn, he took the event win, showcasing impressive strength but also incredible endurance levels.
Ondrej Fojtu finished in second place, showing exactly why he is currently one of the biggest prospects in the Strongman community. At just 23 years old, Ondrej managed to beat everyone except Mateusz, finishing just two seconds after the event winner. Luke Richardson finished in third place as the only other man to finish the event.
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 8 reps in 62.09 s
- Ondrej Fojtu — 8 reps in 64.96 s
- Luke Richardson — 8 reps in 66.10 s
- Luke Stoltman — 6 reps in 60.77 s
- Gavin Bilton — 6 reps in 73.94 s
- Nicolas Cambi — 5 reps in 38.41 s
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 5 reps in 41.44 s
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 5 reps in 44.53 s
- Paddy Haynes — 2 reps in 18.86 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 2 reps in 19.78 s
- Andrew Flynn — 2 reps in 38.99 s
- Rauno Heinla — 0 reps
Event Two — Shield Walk
In the second event of the 2025 Europe’s Strongest Man, the athletes took on the Shield Walk. In this event, they had to pick up a 200-kilogram (440.9-pound) implement and carry it for the longest distance possible. While doing so, the athletes pushed themselves to the absolute limits, trying to endure the pain and get as far as possible.
Paddy Haynes absolutely crushed the second event of the competition, being one of the first men to take the competition floor and setting a mark that no other man was capable of even getting close to. He dropped the implement at the 89.99-meter mark, beating everyone by over 25 meters.
Pavlo Kordiyaka finished in second place, which was not surprising considering how successful he has been in these types of events in the past. He reached 61.84 meters, thus beating the third-place finisher, Mateusz Kieliszkowski, by 5 meters.
- Paddy Haynes — 89.99 meters
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 61.84 meters
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 56.82 meters
- Luke Richardson — 56.10 meters
- Andrew Flynn — 51.04 meters
- Ondrej Fojtu — 49.44 meters
- Luke Stoltman — 47.49 meters
- Gavin Bilton — 41.12 meters
- Pa O’Dwyer — 33.00 meters
- Rauno Heinla — 29.49 meters
- Nicolas Cambi — 28.38 meters
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 23.12 meters
Event Three — Anchor Carry & Drag
Moving on to the third event, it was time for the Strongmen to showcase their speed under load. So, they first had to carry a 125-kilogram (275.5-pound) anvil for a distance of 20 meters, following it up with an additional 20 meters of a 350-kilogram (771.6-pound) chain drag. The goal was to finish both tasks in the shortest time possible.
In a moment of incredible rarity, Luke Richardson and Mateusz Kieliszkowski tied for first place, as they had an identical time down to one hundredth of a second. So, both ended up with a time of 22.58 seconds, thus sharing the points.
Ondrej Fojtu put in another incredible performance as well, finishing with a time of 25.08 seconds to beat some truly impressive Strongmen. So, he earned himself a third-place finish.
- Luke Richardson — 22.58 seconds
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 22.58 seconds
- Ondrej Fojtu — 25.08 seconds
- Paddy Haynes — 26.65 seconds
- Andrew Flynn — 26.89 seconds
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 27.10 seconds
- Pa O’Dwyer — 27.60 seconds
- Luke Stoltman — 28.19 seconds
- Nicolas Cambi — 29.10 seconds
- Rauno Heinla — 30.96 seconds
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 31.15 seconds
- Gavin Bilton — 39.22 seconds
Event Four — Axle Deadlift
The penultimate event of the 2025 Europe’s Strongest Man was a familiar one, tasking the athletes with performing as many reps as possible on a 350-kilogram (771.6-pound) deadlift. However, the athletes performed the challenge on an Axle bar, which is much more stiff than the standard one, making the event even more difficult.
The deadlift event brought a well-known name to the top of the leaderboard, as the Masters Deadlift World Record holder, Rauno Heinla, showed off his abilities. He locked out eight reps to take first place. However, Rauno had to settle for a tie, as Paddy Haynes locked out the same number of reps to shock the crowd.
Similar to the previous event, Ondrej Fojtu once again managed to burst into the top three athletes, showing how well-rounded his skills are. He locked out six reps to beat Luke Richardson and Pa O’Dwyer.
- Rauno Heinla — 8 reps
- Paddy Haynes — 8 reps
- Ondrej Fojtu — 6 reps
- Luke Richardson — 5 reps
- Pa O’Dwyer — 5 reps
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 4 reps
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 4 reps
- Andrew Flynn — 3 reps
- Nicolas Cambi — 3 reps
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 3 reps
- Gavin Bilton — 1 rep
- Luke Stoltman — Withdrew
Event Five — Castle Stones
Lastly, the athletes were put through a test in the Castle Stones. Specifically, they had to pick up and load a series of five progressively heavier stones onto their specific platforms. The weight of the stones ranged from 120-kg (264.5-lb) to 200-kg (440.9-lb). The fastest man to finish all stones took the event win.
Luke Richardson did have a small lead going into the final event, but he still did not want to leave anything to chance. So, he made sure to take the event win, loading all five stones in just 25.96 seconds. In turn, he reclaimed his title of Europe’s Strongest Man.
Paddy Haynes finished in second place, having completed the event in 26.34 seconds. This allowed him to take over the second place overall, pushing Mateusz Kieliszkowski down a position. Rauno Heinla was the only other man to complete the event, thus rounding out the top three.
- Luke Richardson — 5 stones in 25.96 s
- Paddy Haynes — 5 stones in 26.34 s
- Rauno Heinla — 5 stones in 28.44 s
- Mateusz Kieliszkowski — 4 stones in 17.03 s
- Ondrej Fojtu — 4 stones in 18.88 s
- Andrew Flynn — 4 stones in 20.82 s
- Aivars Smaukstelis — 4 stones in 21.73 s
- Pavlo Kordiyaka — 4 stones in 22.78 s
- Pa O’Dwyer — 4 stones in 31.49 s
- Nicolas Cambi — 3 stones in 31.65 s
- Gavin Bilton — 2 stones in 10.13 s
Related: 2025 Strongman Champions League Iceman Results — Brian Kichton Wins
Luke Richardson has been competing at the highest level of Strongman for over six years, steadily building an impressive resume. He’s participated in 11 international and national competitions, securing four victories along the way. Most notably, he’s now a two-time Europe’s Strongest Man, having first claimed the title in 2020 and reclaimed it in 2025. Despite dealing with injuries in recent years, Luke has fought his way back to top form. At just 27 years old, he’s primed to chase even greater success in the years ahead.
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