The legendary strength sports athlete is putting a bow on his strongman profession.
For over 16 years, Nick Best was a fixture on the competitive strongman circuit. As a simultaneous powerlifter for much of that point, he developed a status for being one in every of the more versatile strength sports athletes of his era. In not less than one competitive avenue, the 54-year-old athlete is formally drawing the curtains.
After ending in second place to Mark Felix within the Masters (50-plus) World’s Strongest Man competition in the course of the 2022 Official Strongman Games (OSG) in Daytona Beach, FL, on Nov. 13, 2022, Best did something somewhat out of the atypical. He left his performance shoes behind, revealing he could be retiring from strongman competition.
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In a post-competition interview from the livestream, Best was understandably emotional over the burden of his decision. He had nothing but kind words for a rewarding endeavor of which he had dedicated himself to for years.
“Thanks all a lot,” Best said. “I like this sport with all my heart, and it’s been a beautiful ride.”
The 2022 OSG was Best’s first strongman contest since an appearance on the 2020 World’s Strongest Man (WSM). After an unlucky lat muscle tear in April 2021 that temporarily derailed much of his training and competitive plans — a second-place end in his strongman swan song roughly only a 12 months and a half later is commendable.
Based on BarBend, while Best is retiring from full-time strongman contests, he didn’t rule out featuring as knowledgeable powerlifter or any future singular attempts at breaking a strongman record. One-off short strongman events aren’t out of the query either, depending on what’s detailed. Best noted he can be participating in an undisclosed full powerlifting meet in May where he desires to develop into the oldest man ever to record a 1000-kilogram (2,204-pound) total.
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Given the prolonged time he spent as a competitive strongman, Best can count on loads of highlights on his strongman resume.
Amongst the possibly more notable achievements, Best won the 2009 Jesse Marunde Memorial Invitational, in addition to the 2016 Masters (40-plus) World’s Strongest Man and the 2016 Giants Live North American Open contests. From 2010-2020, he was a mainstay on the flagship WSM, notching his best-ever results of sixth place in 2010 and once more finished in the highest 10 in 2017.
While Best refocuses his energies outside of major strongman contests, this likely won’t be the last anyone within the strength sports community hears of the icon. For a dedicated and experienced athlete like him, it’d just be the start of the following promising phase of his overall competitive profession.
Featured image: nickbeststrongman / Instagram