On April 6, the biggest and strongest men on the planet will meet in Leeds, England, to compete in the World Log Lift Challenge—one of the most storied events in the sport of Strongman. Among the list of competitors are names you’re more familiar with like Brian Shaw and Larry Wheels, who scored himself an invite to this press-a-thon. But the two men who are really primed to beat the current world record of 228kg/502.5 pounds (held by four-time, World’s Strongest Man Zydrunas Savickas) are West African native Cheick Ahmed al-Hassan Sanou (aka Iron Biby) and 33-year-old Englishman Graham Hicks.
“If I’m absolutely honest, I can only see two guys who can get close to it,” two-time Britain’s Strongest Man winner, Laurence Shahlaei, said in a video on his YouTube channel Big Loz Official. “The favorite being Iron Biby…and obviously England’s Graham Hicks. His shoulder power is increbile, plus he’s technically superior on the log lifting. Iron Biby has more raw power but Hicksy is technically very good on the log as well as having crazy triceps and shoulder strength.”
The two competitors have been sharing their progress on Instagram leading up to the show. Biby is eight kilos ahead of Hicks with a 228-kilo press (shown above), but consider how easy the rep was for the Englishman (see below) and it’s not impossible to imagine him pressing another eight to 10 kilos (or 18 to 22.5 pounds) overhead. And as Shahlaei alluded to earlier, the technique is a huge factor in executing a successful log press. Either way, this will be the closest any competitor has gotten to taking down Big Z’s initial 228kg press from back in 2015, and we’re pumped to see who walks away as the most prolific presser.
