For the first time, the World’s Strongest Man hails from Africa.
Rayno Nel, a South African rugby player turned strongman, held on to win Sunday in his World’s Strongest Man debut — becoming the first man from outside Europe or Noth America to take the title in the competition’s 48-year history. He is also the first rookie to win since 1997.
‘I’m just over the moon,’ he told USA TODAY Sports shortly after securing the title at the 2025 competition, held in Sacramento, California.
‘To represent (South Africa) in any way whatsoever, it feels surreal. I mean, we’re a small country with a lot of struggles. To have something like this I know means a lot to my people.’
It was a stunning outcome, particularly given the circumstances — and the frantic finale.
At World’s Strongest Man, competitors earn points based on the order of finish in each event, with the top finisher getting the most points. Nel built a sizable lead on the first day of the finals Saturday by finishing no worse than second in the day’s three events, but he knew that his two worst events — the Flintstone Barbell and the storied Atlas Stones — were ahead of him. The Flintstone Barbell requires competitors to overhead press a bar weighing 531 pounds, while the Atlas Stones involve placing a series of stones between 310 and 460 pounds on pedestals.
‘I think to have your two worst events coming up, that’s one thing. But knowing that (2023 champion) Mitch Hooper and (three-time World’s Strongest Man) Tom Stoltman are chasing you, with your worst events coming up, that’s something different,’ Nel said.
‘I just tried to stay focused and do as much damage limitation as possible.’
Nel, 30, ultimately won by just half a point over Stoltman thanks to a third-place finish in the Atlas Stones, which was the last event of the finals.
Not bad for a guy who, at least as of three years ago, had only played rugby.
‘Rugby was what I thought I would do for my sport career. I didn’t think I’d do any sport ever again,’ he said. ‘But I always had this competitive side to me, so when I stopped playing rugby, I knew I needed to do something competitive. That’s just who I am.’
Nel, who is 6 feet 3 and weighs 326 pounds, has said he realized at one point that he had always had a bit more muscle over even larger opponents in rugby matches. So he decided to give strongman a try. He said he lucked out because his coach, Terence Bosman, had a world-class facility just a few miles from his house.
‘Although the strongman community is very small in South Africa, of the whole country, I lived 5 kilometers from the best place to train,’ Nel said.
Though he had won continental strongman competitions before this week, Nel admitted that World’s Strongest Man marked a massive step up. Of the 25 strongmen in the field, he had only competed against one of them before. He said it led to some nerves — errors — in the opening events.
‘Coming in, I won’t say I was starstruck by everything, but World’s Strongest Man is just such a big scene and competition,’ he said.
‘Luckily in the sport, I know what the other guys’ numbers are. I know, pretty much, what they can do. So deep down, I knew there was a chance.’
Asked about how he would celebrate his win — and the history he made for his continent — Nel laughed. His only plan was to have a beer with his family, even if his preferred South African brand, Black Label, would likely be impossible to find.
‘I’ll try out some American beer tonight,’ he said.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.
(This story has been updated to add new information).