Breaking: Rayno Nel Wins 2025 World’s Strongest Man in His Debut

The 2025 World’s Strongest Man competition took place on May 15-18 in Sacramento, California. Spanning across four days and featuring a total of 25 incredible Strongman athletes, the competition provided an exciting experience for both the competitors and fans of the sport. At the end of the incredibly intense battle, Rayno Nel was the one who came out victorious.

Rayno Nel was one of the last few athletes to receive an invite to the 2025 World’s Strongest Man, but he definitely proved worthy of the honor. Despite making a debut at the competition, Rayno managed to perform exceptionally well, not letting the pressure of performing on the biggest stage get to him.

With his incredible rookie performance at the 2025 World’s Strongest Man, Rayno Nel becomes one of just a few athletes who have managed to win the competition in their first appearances. This is an incredible achievement considering that the WSM has been going for nearly 50 years. In fact, Jouko Ahola was the last man to win the World’s Strongest Man in his debut back in 1997.

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Rayno Nel’s 2025 World’s Strongest Man Performance

Qualifiers

Loading Race: 4 in 42.36 s (Second-place)
Deadlift for Reps: 8 reps (First-place)
Overhead Medley: 5 in 36.81 s (Second-place)
Titan’s Toss: 8 in 29.41 s (Second-place)
Stone Medley / Stones of the World: 4 in 62.00 s (First-place)

Finals

Note: Rayno Nel carried eight points to the finals, only behind Mitchell Hooper and Tom Stoltman, who were given 10 and 9 points, respectively, for their performances in the qualifying stage.

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Knaack Carry & Hoist: 30.58 s (First-place)
18-inch Deadlift (Max): 490-kg (First-place)
Hercules Hold: 75.63 s (Second-place)
Flintstone Barbell (Max): 188-kg (Eighth-place)
Atlas Stones: 4 in 30.17 s (Third-Place)

Rayno Nel found himself in an exceptionally stacked qualifying group, going against the likes of Lucas Hatton and Mateusz Kieliszkowski. So, it came as a surprise when he easily crushed his rivals, never falling out of the top two across any of the five events. His performance on the deadlift was exceptionally impressive, since he was one of the only men across all groups to perform eight repetitions with 350 kilograms (771.6 pounds).

Rayno Nel continued with the impressive performances on the first day of finals. He won the opening event, the Knaack Carry & Hoist and added two second place finishes on the 18-inch Deadlift and the Hercules Hold. As a result, Rayno built a seven-point lead going into the final day of the 2025 World’s Strongest Man.

The last day of the 2025 WSM did not go as expected for Rayno Nel, as he finished in eighth place on the Flintstone Barbell overhead press for max weight. So, Tom Stoltman utilized the opportunity to catch up with Rayno, cutting down Rayno’s lead to 2.5 points. Tom ended up winning the final event of the competition, but Rayno’s third-place finish was enough for him to hold on to the winning position.

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Rayno Nel has won six out of seven competitions in which he took part, one of which is now the 2025 World’s Strongest Man. He is relatively new to the competitive stage of Strongman, but has quickly reached the top. So, it is safe to say that he is the sport’s newest superstar and someone that will achieve more incredible things in the future.