The 2025 Strongman Champions League Italy took place on June 7th in Crema. It marked the fourth stage of the SCL season and featured a number of spectacular performances. While the lineup did consist of 12 athletes, Rayno Nel stole the spotlight, coming into the competition just weeks after winning the World’s Strongest Man. So, he continued his winning streak and won the Strongman Champions League Italy.
Rayno Nel won two out of five events at the 2025 Strongman Champions League Italy, along with two runner-up performances. He finished the competition with 53 out of 60 points, beating Adam Roszkowski by 5.5 points. Rayno is probably still carrying a level of fatigue from winning the WSM and all obligations that came with it, making his win at the 2025 SCL Italy even more impressive.
2025 Strongman Champions League Italy
- Rayno Nel — 53 points
- Adam Roszkowski — 47.5 points
- Brian Kichton — 41 points
- Evans Nana — 39 points
- Ilya Khazov — 34 points
- Andrea Invernizzi — 33 points
- William Relf — 30 points
- Gianluca Ardenghi — 27.5 points
- Jesper Hansson — 23 points
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 20 points
- Lucas Rogerio — 17 points
- Emanuele Greco — 10 points
Event One — Car Deadlift
The first event of the 2025 Strongman Champions League Italy was a variation of the deadlift. Specifically, a car was placed on a ramp, meaning that the athletes were prompted to lift a part of it for as many reps as possible. The total load that the athletes pulled with each rep was 340 kilograms (749.6 pounds). They were allowed to use lifting straps, but not a deadlift suit.
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Rayno Nel showcased his deadlift ability in the finals of World’s Strongest Man, which made him a clear favorite to take the event win at the 2025 SCL Italy. He ended up locking out five repetitions to take the max points.
Ilya Khazov was the one athlete who pushed Rayno Nel to the limits, locking out four incredible repetitions. While it wasn’t enough to beat the South African Strongman, Ilya still secured a valuable second-place finish. Nana, Kichton, and Invernizzi all tied for third place with two reps.
- Rayno Nel — 5 reps
- Ilya Khazov — 4 reps
- Evans Nana — 2 reps
- Brian Kichton — 2 reps
- Andrea Invernizzi — 2 reps
- Adam Roszkowski — 1 rep
- Gianluca Ardenghi — 1 rep
- Kelvin de Ruiter — No Lift
- William Relf — No Lift
- Jesper Hansson — No Lift
- Lucas Rogerio — No Lift
- Emanuele Greco — No Lift
Event Two — Log Lift Medley
The second event presented a clear contrast to the initial test of strength, given that the Log Lift primarily assesses upper body power. So, the athletes had the task of lifting a series of five implements over their head in the shortest time possible. The first implement weighed 100 kilograms (220.5 pounds), while the weight increased in increments of 20 kilograms (44 pounds) for each following log. So, the fifth and final implement came out to 180 kilograms (396.8 pounds).
The second event win also went to Rayno Nel, who lifted all five logs in just 22.59 seconds. His technique was nothing short of perfect, while his transitions between implements ensured that he did not lose any precious seconds.
Adam Roszkowski also had an incredible performance, only being outshined by the reigning World’s Strongest Man. He finished the event just two seconds after Rayno and thus placed second. The most intense battle happened between Evans Nana and William Relf. The two men were racing to claim the third place, with Evans beating Relf by just 0.16 seconds.
- Rayno Nel — 4 in 22.59s
- Adam Roszkowski — 4 in 24.74s
- Evans Nana — 4 in 27.36s
- William Relf — 4 in 27.52s
- Brian Kichton — 4 in 30.02s
- Ilya Khazov — 4 in 30.42s
- Gianluca Ardenghi — 4 in 35.77s
- Lucas Rogerio — 4 in 37.64s
- Andrea Invernizzi — 4 in 38.87s
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 3 in 23.61s
- Emanuele Greco — 3 in 34.77s
- Jesper Hansson — 1 in 4.74s
Event Three — Bag Toss Medley
The third event of the 2025 Strongman Champions League Italy was all about speed. It was the Bag Toss Medley, meaning that the athletes had to throw five sandbags over a 4.2-meter high beam in the shortest time possible. The weight of the bags ranged from 22-kg (48.5-lb) to 30-kg (66.1-lb).
Adam Roszkowski started to cut down Rayno Nel’s overall lead with his first event win of the competition. He was unbelievably quick, finishing the event in just 11.46 seconds. So, he averaged just over two seconds per sandbag toss. William Relf was also quite comfortable in second place with a time of 12.23 seconds, considering that Brian Kichton rounded up the top three by finishing the event in 14.52 seconds.
It is important to note that Rayno Nel finished in sixth place. He was on pace for one of the top few spots but lost a lot of time on the final bag toss. He had the power but could not get the trajectory of his throw right.
- Adam Roszkowski — 5 in 11.46s
- William Relf — 5 in 12.23s
- Brian Kichton — 5 in 14.52s
- Evans Nana — 5 in 18.9s
- Ilya Khazov — 5 in 24.12s
- Rayno Nel — 5 in 29.90s
- Andrea Invernizzi — 5 in 30.5s
- Jesper Hansson — 4 in 13.93s
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 4 in 14.9s
- Gianluca Ardenghi — 4 in 19.43s
- Emanuele Greco — 3 in 17.96s
- Lucas Rogerio — 2 in 15.72s
Event Four — Hercules Hold
The penultimate event of the 2025 Strongman Champions League Italy was one of the most notable tests of grip strength — the Hercules Hold. In this instance, the athletes had to hold two huge pillars weighing 180 kilograms (396.8 pounds) for as long as possible. The athlete with the longest time took the event win.
Andrea Invernizzi displayed incredible strength and endurance in the Hercules Hold event, managing to hold the pillars for 1 minute and 16 seconds. With this, Andrea set a new Italian record in this event, while also taking the event win and the max number of points.
Rayno Nel was determined to get another event win but ended up letting go of the handles just two seconds before Invernizzi. However, his second-place finish still increased his overall lead. Jasper Hansson from Sweden secured his highest finish of the competition on the Hercules Hold, breaking into the top three with a time of 69 seconds.
- Andrea Invernizzi — 76.56 seconds
- Rayno Nel — 74.16 seconds
- Jesper Hansson — 69.78 seconds
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 64.5 seconds
- Lucas Rogerio — 63.53 seconds
- Gianluca Ardenghi — 57.18 seconds
- Adam Roszkowski — 56.33 seconds
- Emanuele Greco — 52.55 seconds
- Brian Kichton — 44.01 seconds
- Evans Nana — 43.32 seconds
- Ilya Khazov — 42.35 seconds
- William Relf — 40.96 seconds
Event Five — Atlas Stone Medley
As is often the case, the Atlas Stones wrapped up the 2025 Strongman Champions League Italy competition. The event consisted of five stones weighing from 120-kg (264.6-lb) to 200-kg (440.9-lb). All stones had to be lifted onto a platform that was 1.3 meters high. It was a timed event, meaning that the goal was to finish in the shortest time possible.
Adam Roszkowski gave his all in a final effort to overtake Rayno Nel and take the 2025 SCL Italy title. He did manage to get the event win by completing all five stones in 20.24 seconds. However, Rayno was just one position behind him, since he was 0.39 seconds slower.
So, Rayno Nel managed to hold on to his first place overall, winning yet another edition of the Strongman Champions League.
- Adam Roszkowski — 5 in 20.24s
- Rayno Nel — 5 in 20.63s
- Brian Kichton — 5 in 20.98s
- William Relf — 5 in 25.08s
- Evans Nana — 5 in 26.27s
- Jesper Hansson — 5 in 28.3s
- Ilya Khazov — 5 in 32.42s
- Gianluca Ardenghi — 5 in 35.12s
- Kelvin de Ruiter — 5 in 51.65s
- Lucas Rogerio — 4 in 35.21s
- Andrea Invernizzi — 4 in 37.74s
- Emanuele Greco — 4 in 47.89s
Related: 2025 Strongman Champions League Serbia Results — Evans Nana Wins
Although he is relatively new to Strongman, Rayno Nel has quickly reached an elite tier of performance. With seven victories in only eight international outings, including the 2025 World’s Strongest Man title, Rayno became Strongman’s newest superstar. His upcoming schedule is also packed, as he is confirmed to compete in several major events, including SCL Holland and the 2025 Strongest Man On Earth.
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