Sheffield Strongman Paul Smith says he was pleased with his overall performance in Saturday’s Britain’s Strongest Man held at the city’s arena.
Smith, 27, finished fifth in the overall standings as Scotland’s World’s Strongest Man Tom Stoltman secured back-to-back British titles.
Although he was unable to match his own target of a top four finish, Smith said he enjoyed the experience of competing in front of a sold-out home crowd.
“I was a bit disappointed not to come fourth but it was a good performance and it was a stronger field than last time when I came fifth so I was fairly happy,” Smith said.
“We hit big lifts in the gym but the atmosphere and the adrenaline just isn’t the same. Hearing that roar in the arena was fantastic and it definitely pushes you on. A lot of guys never get a chance to perform in front of a home crowd so it’s something I value a lot.”
Born and raised in Burngreave, Sheffield, Smith began his Strongman journey at a local bodybuilding gym. He had grown up watching the events on television and was encouraged to give it a go.
Smith said: “I didn’t really have any ideas about competing then, I was just a young lad wanting to get bigger and stronger.
“After a few months they entered me into a local competition in Stocksbridge. I didn’t have any proper training for it and came second to last – but I was 16 and really enjoyed it so I started getting into more competitions.”
The field of 11 battled it out across five gruelling events; the 200 kilogram shield carry, the 360-kilogram axle deadlift for repetitions, the 150 kilogram axle press for repetitions, the sandbag toss and atlas stones.
Smith explained the added physical challenge competitions throw at the athletes compared to in training.
“At competition level every event is all out, one hundred per cent effort. The shield carry was a particularly tough event to start with, I gave it everything and my back and legs were dead,” Smith said.
“Then you only have ten or fifteen minutes before the next event. The big challenge is peaking for each event and then dealing with that short turn-around.”
Whilst Smith’s fifth place finish doesn’t guarantee him a spot at May’s World’s Strongest Man in Sacramento, California, he hasn’t given up all hope of competing at the event.
He said: “I’m hoping I can get a call up for the World’s Strongest Man which is the big one and I want to do as well as I can there.
“I’ve also got the UK’s Strongest Man coming up and after coming second last year my goal is to win that.”
