From ruptured bicep to World's Strongest Man

"I'm proud of myself but the work's not done," said Shane Flowers who has recovered from injury to become one of the world's strongest men.

The father from Weymouth ruptured his bicep and needed to have the muscle surgically reattached.

But 13 months on, he said he "couldn't believe it" after he came 7th in the 2025 World's Strongest Man competition, held in the US last month.

The 31-year-old told the BBC he had been inspired to be a "role model" to his new son.

Twenty five of the world's top athletes gathered in Sacramento, California, for the annual showcase of strength, which first took place in 1977.

The 6ft 5in (1.9m), 24-stone (152kg) giant from Dorset admitted it was "a huge mental game", taking more than just his physical strength to succeed.

"When it's going on, there's this atmosphere, it's like a do or die type thing, it's pretty intense," Flowers said.

"At times I thought I was being over ambitious."

He suffered food poisoning during the contest but managed to make his way to the final, performing well in events like sandbag throwing, the Hercules hold and the Atlas stones.

Despite his top 10 finish, he said, with a smile on his face, "the competitor in me thinks I could have been 5th".

But he admitted he was "buzzing" from his success.

"To be a competitor at that stage already puts you in the upper echelons of the sport," he continued.

Flowers added becoming a father for the first time also gave him "a different perspective".

"I don't care if my son Ronny wants to become a strongman when he's older, I just want him to witness his old man really work hard towards what he's passionate about, and then he witnesses that and use that blueprint in his own journey," he said.

South African Rayno Nel became the first African to win the historic contest, narrowly beating last year's winner Scotland's Luke Stoltman by 0.5 points.

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