Farmer Mark Westaby has a golden harvest in his strong-man sights as he explains to DAVE FLETT.


HEALAUGH he-man Mark Westaby has taken a giant stride towards becoming a master of the universe.

The 43-year-old farmer’s dream is to reach the final of the World’s Strongest Man and be regarded as one of the ten most powerful people on the planet.

His win in the inaugural CNP UK Strongman Premier League indicated that aspiration is within Westaby’s sizeable reach.

The former Tadcaster Grammar School pupil completed a clean sweep of victories in the three Premier League fixtures, held at Burnley and Nelson, to emerge as a runaway outright winner.

Each meeting encompassed six punishing disciplines and the deciding event fittingly featured a farmer’s walk, where contestants carried 128 kilograms in each hand until their legs, arms or, both, buckled under the strain.

The truck pull was Westaby’s personal favourite, however, even if that term seems hopelessly misplaced in reference to hauling a 7.5 tonne lorry 30 metres in your your bare arms while sat down.

About his triumph, Westaby said: “It’s one of the toughest events I’ve ever competed in and I’m honoured to think I’m the first winner. The other competitors pushed my strength to the limit and I really enjoyed the show.”

Westaby, who weighs 26 stone and stands 6ft 4in tall, has never been beaten in a truck pull contest during five years of Strongman events and also added victories in the farmer’s walk, Atlas stones and log press.

He wowed spectators by pressing a 130kg log six times and then completing two more repetitions on the 100kg log and added afterwards that he believes the league can become a permanent and popular fixture on the Strongman calendar.

“It has the potential to catch on and grow,” he said. “A lot of people are talking about it and the organisers seem to be moving in the right direction and are not frightened about advertising it.

“A lot of young lads are coming through and the league has given them an opportunity to compete at a good level. The only downside was the weather – we had torrential rain at each fixture and that affected the crowd numbers.”

Westaby was a relative latecomer to the sport after approaching former Sand Hutton resident and World Strongman finalist Rob Dixon after a competition in 2002.

“I watched Rob and told him afterwards that I fancied giving it a go,” he recalled. “I’d not done any sport since the shot putt when I was at school and had been nowhere near a gym but he was stood next to an Atlas stone and said ‘if you can lift that, I’ll train you.’ It was about 150kg but I did it.”

Dixon has since moved to France but his protégé still trains between four and five times a week after a full day of work in the fields.

His training is split between gym visits and workouts on custom-made equipment he has built at the farm.

He said: “I’ve copied what you see on the TV so I can train on the farm. I also get plenty of practice pulling cows and tractors.”

Westaby is now looking ahead to defending his Premier League trophy next year, as well as targeting the British Strongman title and the World Strongman grand final.

He has finished fifth three times in the national competition and narrowly missed 2007’s world grand final in Los Angeles.

“I’d like to win Britain’s Strongest Man,” he said. “I’ve finished fifth every time and I just need to get a bit of an edge on my rivals.

“I’d also like to be one of the top ten in the world. That would be great and I was only a couple points off getting in the grand final last year.”

To achieve his goals, Westaby will be working on his “drag” technique and attempting to lose two stone in weight as he looks to gain speed without sacrificing any of his strength.

He said: “I feel I’m powerful enough, I just need to be a bit faster. I’m a bit heavy and would like to get to 24 stone so I’ll be doing more cardio-vascular work – running and swimming.

“Everything’s so tight and the difference between winning and losing can come down to 1/100th of a second. I also know my worst event is the drag, pulling a heavy anchor or chain. I’ve got to get better at that.

“I’m 43 now and I’ll see what happens next year. It might be my last one but, if I do well, I’ll want to keep going.

“You can improve with age in this sport and, while I felt strong in my 20s, I feel stronger now.”


The Six UK Strongman Premier League Disciplines

* Farmer’s Walk – walking with 128kg in each hand up and down a 20-metre course until exhausted.

* Vehicle Deadlift – raising 330kg on handles.

* Timber Flip – lifting and flipping over a 180kg, eight-metre railway sleeper until completing a 40-metre course.

* Truck Pull – pulling a 7.5 tonne lorry over a 30-metre course.

* Log Press – pressing a 130kg log for two points per repetition or a 100kg log for one point.

* Atlas Stones – placing stones, ranging from 110kg to 200kg, on to platforms starting at 6ft and getting lower as the weight increases.