Gavin Bilton Successfully Defends UKSM Title
2021-05-31 by Éloi Fournier
After becoming the first Welshman to win the UK's Strongest Man crown in 2020, Gavin Bilton has gone out and done it again this weekend.
Bilton only won a single event, the Brick Lift – a Deadlift variation, with the athlete standing on a high platform lifting a bar with a basket of bricks hanging underneath it. However, the Welshman showed great consistency throughout the day, which allowed him to earn a comfortable three-point victory.
Young veteran Paul Smith of England was second. The former World's Strongest Man competitor was able to achieve his best UKSM finish by tying for the win in the Viking Press and claiming the victory in the Carry & Drag. However, Smith had struggled in the Atlas Stones prior to these successes, removing him from title contention. Still, the 26-year-old can be very satisfied with his efforts.
Scotland's Andy Black, a relative newcomer to the sport of strongman, had to settle for third place despite tying on points with Smith. Black, the 2020 Scotland's Strongest Man title holder, has been tipped by former European champion Laurence Shahlaei as having tremendous potential.
The day was not so full of joy for 2018 UK's Strongest Man winner Pa O'Dwyer. The Irishman had issues in the first event, the Truck Push, but battled on before finishing just one point off the podium.
"The mats lifted on me, I couldn’t find ground to push the truck and tore my bicep. I tried my best to climb back up, but it wasn’t meant to be, unfortunately", said O'Dwyer on his Instagram page.
The former champion was not the only athlete to suffer on the final day of UKSM: Andrew Flynn (ENG) dropped out due to a bicep issue, while Louis Jack (SCO) had to withdraw because of an irregular heartbeat.
With his second UK's Strongest Man title, Gavin Bilton of Wales becomes the first man to successfully defend his crown in this competition since Eddie Hall (ENG) won six straight titles from 2011 to 2016.
Bilton will now focus on World's Strongest Man, which gets underway in just over two weeks in Sacramento, Calfornia.