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14
Apr
A tale of two strongmen: A weekend of mixed emotions for Ripon and Harrogate
It was a weekend of mixed emotions for Ripon and Harrogate strongmen Josh Berriman and Luke Richardson, as they both stepped onto the competitive stage on Saturday (April 11).
Berriman, 22, was crowned the UK’s Natural Strongest Man at an event in Wolverhampton, while Richardson, 28, placed seventh at Europe’s Strongest Man.
After a joint-seventh-place finish in the first event, Berriman clawed his way back to the top of the pile, finishing first in three of the remaining five events, and second and third in the other two.
The strongman finished one point ahead of second-placed Isi Ejele, with 55.
Berriman moved from powerlifting to strongman competitions after claiming he was “robbed” of the International Powerlifting World Championships in September.
Since then, he has gone from success to success in the sport.
In February, on his strongman debut, he won a silver medal in England’s Strongest Natural Man.
That same month, he topped the overall leaderboards for the Cerberus Strength UK and Irish Nationals, beating hundreds of other athletes.
In a social media post yesterday (April 12), he said:
This one meant a lot. Seven months ago, I made the decision to pursue my ultimate goal of becoming the World’s strongest man. This was a product of 5 years of obsessively chasing a stronger version of myself.
This was far from the perfect comp having to claw back from mistakes on the very first event and fighting consciousness on the final event to secure the win. I will always fight to the very end.
Berriman also thanked Luke Richardson’s gym, L R Strength Shed, where he trains, saying that the people there have supported him from the very start.
Not Richardson’s day
Fortunes did not favour Luke Richardson on Saturday, who finished seventh of twelve athletes in Europe’s Strongest Man.
Competing in front of thousands at Leeds’s First Direct Arena, the two-time winner of the event managed only 32 points overall – 22.5 less than the winner, Ondřej Fojtů.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret last week, Richardson said that despite piecemeal preparation, he still thought he was stronger than everyone else.
However, there are extenuating circumstances for Richardson, who tragically lost his best friend and fellow strongman, Pa O’Dwyer, in January.
He told us last week that he was still struggling to come to terms with it and that he’s currently forcing himself to compete.
In a moving video posted to his Instagram, Richardson showed the pair joking about O’Dwyer finishing seventh place at a previous competition. This was followed by a picture of Richardson pointing to his seventh-place position, with the caption, “Ok [Pa], you got me.”
Richardson will not have much time to recover, as he is entered to compete in the World’s Strongest Man competition on April 23, at which he hopes to place in the top three.
After that, he plans to take some time away from competitions.
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