Strongman Brian Shaw has made it abundantly clear that the 2023 Shaw Classic will be his final competition within the sport. So, Shaw uploaded a video on his YouTube channel expressing the significance of what this event means to him and his thoughts regarding his spectacular career.
The 2023 Shaw Classic is set to take place August 19-20th in Loveland, CO. While promoting, Brian Shaw revealed that this year’s winner will be crowned ‘The Strongest Man On Earth.’ With the show approaching, the former four-time World’s Strongest Man gave his best summation of how he’s feeling leading into his final competition as one of the most prominent legends of the sport.
Recapping his journey thus far, Shaw said:
“I’ve really been trying to make the absolute most of it so going through the training I feel like in a lot of ways I’ve put more pressure on myself. With every training session, I am trying to think about the fact that it is my last opportunity on that day to get better for the contest, so I have certainly pushed myself very hard.”
Brian Shaw Talks Final Strongman Contest, “Always Room to Improve”
While discussing his training and preparation for this contest, Shaw reflected on the different stages of his storied career. With a combined 28 wins in the Strongman sport, Brian Shaw shared what truly drove him throughout his tenure:
“I love just stepping out there and competing and only being able to look at yourself in the mirror whether you are successful or not successful. There was always room to improve and I think that that’s what kept me coming back for all of the years that I’ve competed in strongman. The challenge is always changing. The events are always different. You always have to try to improve and come up with new training thoughts and processes and overcome different challenges. All of this is very fun for me to go through,” Shaw said.
Shaw is not only a competitor of the sport, but also a promoter who takes pride in the work that goes behind each event. Given the complexity and forethought required for orchestrating strongman competitions, the Shaw Classic has quickly become a major attraction within the community.
Balancing training as an athlete and responsibilities as a coordinator, Brian Shaw had the following to say about his latest ventures:
“I’ve had to wear the hat going into the Shaw Classic that I have had to wear the last couple years of putting the contest on, organizing it, certainly working with Carrie and our team to make sure the event is successful and there is so many moving parts behind the scenes that have stressed me out in different ways and have been challenging. I’m trying to step back and have confidence in the fact that we’ve got some great people helping, great people working on the projects that we have going and that it’s going to come together because if I stress myself out to much going in it will certainly take away from my training.”
Shaw plans to cement his legacy at his final contest after years of inspiring fans.
“I’m so proud of that. It just is huge. It adds so much to our event this year. It’s gonna be written in history and I want my name to be in history for not only promoting the contest but also for showing up as an athlete.”
Brian Shaw is coming into the 2023 Shaw Classic very confident of his abilities, as he hopes to claim the title of Strongest Man On Earth.
“I have to be confident in my training and my preparation for this contest. I am coming in bigger than I have for a long long time. That has really benefited me in my training, I am stronger than I have been, I am more prepared than I have been.”
While athletes are usually focused only on their performance when they take part in competitions, Brian Shaw has revealed that he will soak up all the moments at the 2023 Shaw Classic, since he want to build a great memory of his final performance.
“I am going to try to enjoy all of the moments along the way this week. Going through the contest, if I have to take a few minutes to stop and center myself and take it all in, and realize how awesome this truly is and how awesome my last time competing in Strongman is going to be.”
The Strongman community wishes the best of luck to Brian Shaw going into the 2023 Shaw Classic. Regardless of how Shaw does at his final contest, his career will go down as one of the greatest the sport has ever seen.
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Watch Brian Shaw’s full video to get an inside look at what is to come this weekend at the 2023 Shaw Classic:
Published: 17 August, 2023 | 6:20 PM EDT
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