UK's Tom Stoltman has been crowned the World's Strongest Man - the first Scot to win the title

A Scot has won the World’s Strongest Man competition after beating four-time winner Brian Shaw to the crown. 

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Tom Stoltman, who is a massive Rangers fan, claimed the title for the first time in front of crowds in Sacramento, California on Sunday (20 June). 

He’s the first Scotsman to ever win the showdown and the first Brit to take home the crown since Eddie Hall in 2017. 

Here is everything you need to know about the strongman. 

Who is Tom Stoltman?

Stoltman is from the town of Invergordon, which is nestled in the centre of the eastern Highlands. 

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The 27-year-old has been training as a strongman for almost a decade, after starting the sport as a teenager.

His first competition was Scotland’s Strongest Man when he was just 18, in which he took home fifth place. 

Since then, he’s been crowned the strongest man in Scotland two times, as well as coming second in Britain’s Strongest Man in 2020.

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And last year he came second in the delayed World’s Strongest Man competition in November, before going on to beat American legend Shaw during Sunday’s grand finale. 

The final became a two-horse race between the giants, but Stoltman ultimately powered his way to take the title in the final event of the Atlas Stones, in which he holds the world record for the heaviest ever lifted at 286kg. 

But Stoltman’s heart also lies with another sport, as he is a huge fan of Rangers FC. 

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The Glasgow club Tweeted their congratulations to the Scot after his victory, saying: “Congratulations to The World’s Strongest Man from the World’s Most Successful club.

"@stoltman_tom, one of our own."

Who is his brother Luke Stoltman?

Stoltman competes in the sport alongside his older brother, Luke, who has won Scotland’s Strongest Man five times. 

The pair became known as “the world’s strongest brothers” after becoming the first siblings in history to make it to the final of the World’s Strongest Man in 2019. 

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Luke recently made the decision to stop working offshore on oil rigs, which he has done since he was 18, to focus on his training. 

What has Stoltman said about growing up with autism?

Stoltman has often opened up about his Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), spreading awareness to his hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers about living with the condition.

He was diagnosed when he was five, and has said it made his childhood difficult. Stoltman kept his autism hidden from his friends until he told them as a teenager. 

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Speaking to The National last year, he said: “I wanted to make it a bit more vocal, just to let people know I’m not shy, I’m not awkward, it’s just that this is what I’ve got and this is how I live with it.

“I still struggle with it sometimes, I take a lot more time than other people to get some things processed and I’m still kind of nervous about new things.

“I always wanted to be successful for the people that have additional needs. I’ve done a lot of talks on it and I want everyone to know that, just because we’ve got a label on our heads, it doesn’t mean that you are different from anyone else, we’ve just got that additional hurdle we have to get over.”

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The sportsman has said the disorder, which affects communication and behaviour, helps him to thrive as a professional athlete, calling it his “superpower”. 

What is his height?

Stoltman, now the strongest man on the planet, stands at a towering 6ft 8in.

His weight is just as impressive, at 174kg. 

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