If you're a fan of watching muscle-bound giants from across the globe testing their strength against each other in some of the most punishing challenges imaginable, then the World's Strongest Man (WSM) will be right up your street. Wales's Gavin Bilton is among those competing for the 2022 bragging rights.
The 33-year-old Caerphilly athlete is a two-time winner of the UK's Strongest Man prize and is the reigning Welsh champion and a former Welsh Guard and Welsh Premiership rugby player. Standing 6ft 6in tall and weighing in at 420lb (190kg), he is in a field of 30 strongmen competing as we speak in the blue riband international WSM event taking place in California.
Strength-testing events for 2022 include car walking, log lifting and wrecking ball holding. The final rounds, held at the weekend, feature bus pulling, flintstone barbell lifting and power stair walking.
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The biggest event on the strength sports calendar is taking place in Sacramento, from May 24 to 29. UK viewers, however, will have to wait to watch the outcome on TV as it is expected it will be shown as part of Christmas schedules as it has been in previous years.
The contest is organized by American event management company IMG. There are no live streams of the contest available but daily highlights shows are being uploaded to YouTube and Facebook. Results can be tracked in real-time on the official WSM website.
It is unclear when or where the competition will be broadcast on TV in the UK. Last year, Channel 5 carried delayed coverage in December.
Leading the field after two days is Great Britain's Tom Stoltman, who is looking to defend his title as reigning champion. Hailing from Invergordon, a port town in the Scottish Highlands, he became the first Scot to win the coveted title at last year's event.
The 6ft 8in, 397lb (180kg) strongmen won the competition, which was also held in Sacramento, by beating four-time champion Brian Shaw head-to-head in the Atlas stones strength test. It involves the athletes lifting five heavy round stones, which increase in weight and setting them on a platform.
The 27-year-old is Scotland's Strongest Man title holder and was the fifth Brit to win the WSM world title. His older brother is five-time Scotland's Strongest Man and 2021 European champion, Luke Stoltman, 37.
Gavin Bilton currently lies in fourth place in his qualifying group ahead of the final event - today. The top two in each group will go forward to compete in the final this weekend, so it's an important day for the Welsh hope.
The Stoltman brothers secured their places in this year's final with one event to spare, yesterday (Wednesday May 25). The pair have dominated their qualifying groups and will go for glory on Saturday and Sunday's finale.
The final qualifying event is the wrecking ball test. Even if they both finish last, they will still top their respective groups before attention turns to the final.
The Brits face competition this year from the likes of 2020 winner and reigning European champ Oleksii Novikov, who was released by the Ukrainian military to take part in the contest. American Brian Shaw is also, once again, one of the top contenders and was among the favourites for the title.
