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Champion strongman Brian Shaw officially announced his retirement in April 2023, stating that this year will mark his final time participating in the World’s Strongest Man competition. Shaw leaves the world of competitive strongman with the second-most number of wins in the history of World’s Strongest Man, along with a reputation as one of one of the true greats of the sport.
Despite battling a nasty leg infection which led to him being hospitalized, disrupting his competition training, Shaw still made it to the competition for a staggering 16th time, and finished in seventh place. After conceding to Luke Stoltman in the Atlas stones event, Shaw delivered an emotional speech to the crowd in which he bade farewell to the sport, and thanked his family and many supporters.
“I feel the love, I’ll say that,” he began. “You know, I wasn’t envisioning anything like this, but it’s why you compete, man, it’s why you compete. I’ve battled a lot of adversity in my career to get to this point, and the longevity is there, I envisioned this moment being different, but I’ve given everything that I possibly could and I’ve got a lot of goals and things to achieve, and I think that I can truly still give back to the sport in a lot of other ways.”
“It’s been a heck of a ride as an athlete,” Shaw continued. “I’m so thankful for everybody that’s been a part of it, so many people over the years that have helped me out, so many people at this contest, my family, my boys and my wife… I’m a lucky man. I’m a very, very lucky man, I’m grateful for all of it, I’m grateful for each and every one of you that’s been a part of it in some way, shape or form.”
“So many of you have told me stories, shared with me different things, and I feel very fortunate to have competed on this platform but to hopefully have inspired so many other people in different ways to go out and be great, that’s what it’s all about to me, it’s what I’ve always tried to do, it’s what I’ve always tried to share, and it’s been fun, man. It’s been fun. I love all of you so much, and go out and be great.”
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
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