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02
Apr
Harrogate’s Luke bids to win Europe’s Strongest Man this weekend
Harrogate strongman Luke Richardson is among the favourites to win Europe’s Strongest Man on Saturday.
About 7,500 people are expected to watch the event at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.
It is one of the biggest and most prestigious strongman events on the international calendar and will be broadcast on Channel 5 at Christmas.
Luke, who has 131,000 Instagram followers, announced his arrival as a world class competitor when he won the event in 2020.
He went on to finish ninth at his first World’s Strongest Man competition that year aged just 23 but then endured four years of injury hell, in which he underwent five bouts of surgery.
He won England’s Strongest Man in 2023 and had podium finishes at both the Giants Live Strongman Open and World Tour Finals to cement his recovery.
Luke would have a good future in dry stone walling if he gave up strongman.
Now he’s hoping to step things up by reclaiming the title of Europe’s Strongest Man in what will be his first time competing in the event since he won it.
The last time he took part it was held at Allerton Park near Knaresborough so he’s looking forward to experiencing the stadium atmosphere in Leeds.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret, he said: “I feel in good shape. It’s a good line-up but I definitely could win it.”
Luke, who weighs 152kg — or 24 stone — eats about 6,500 calories a day and lifts weights four times a week. He also does a weekly conditioning session, as strongman requires considerable endurance as well as strength.
Luke Richardson
World’s Strongest Man
The former Starbeck lifeguard usually trains at LR Strength Shed in Wetherby but occasionally has a session at Absolute Fitness in Boroughbridge, whose owner Darren Sadler promotes the Giants Live series of strongman events, including this weekend’s contest.
He has qualified for the World’s Strongest Man, which takes place in Sacramento, California next month. It’s where he suffered the first of several serious injuries in 2021. It has been a long road back.
There were times when it was really hard, particularly in 2022 when I had three surgeries. It puts it all in perspective. You think it’s going to be there forever and it showed the fragility of it.
What I went through over three years would have made many people stop. You should not be able to have five surgeries and be in the top 10 in the world.”
I finished last year with everybody saying I was back in the top 10 in the world. I need a couple of big performances and then I think I’ll be back among the elite.
His main rivals this weekend are expected to be Scotland’s Luke Stoltman, Poland’s Mateusz Kieliszkowski and Ukrainian Pavlo Kordiyaka.
Tickets are available for the event here. The contest is also being livestreamed by Giants Live.
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