Shaw will lift his final World’s Strongest Man Atlas Stone this April.
Brian Shaw’s legacy is certainly secure within the pantheon of strongman greats. The 40-year-old living legend has been professionally carrying yokes and placing Atlas stones onto podiums for the higher a part of roughly 15 years. As he looks ahead to the following phase of his life that doesn’t involve lifting extremely large objects just a few select times within the calendar, Shaw is able to close a vital chapter.
On Jan. 9, 2023, Shaw announced that the 2023 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) could be his last appearance within the famed international contest. When the most recent edition rolls on Apr. 18-23, 2023, in Myrtle Beach, SC, Shaw will make “another big push” for a historic fifth profession WSM title.
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When Shaw finally gets set to compete within the 2023 WSM, it should mark his sixteenth appearance within the illustrious contest. He has appeared within the WSM Finals, which comes after the warmth stage cutoff, in 14 of his previous contests, only falling wanting advancing in his WSM debut in 2008. So far, Shaw has never finished lower than sixth place (2019) within the WSM and might boast 10 podium results.
More impressively, when taking a historical context of wins, Shaw’s 4 WSM championships tie him for the second-most all-time with Žydrūnas Savickas, Magnús Ver Magnússon, and Jón Páll Sigmarsson. With five WSM titles, only Poland’s Mariusz Pudzianowski has more victories as he stands alone at the highest of the game. Shaw’s last WSM title happened in 2016 when he happened to beat eventual 2017 WSM champion Eddie Hall (third place) and future 2018 WSM champion Hafthor Björnsson (second place).
When discussing what his last appearance will mean to him, Shaw was frank and seemingly optimistic about his prospects on the 2023 iteration of the competition.
“After taking a while to give it some thought, I need to present World’s Strongest Man another big push.” Shaw said. “I feel like I’ve got it in me. My body feels great, and mentally, I feel this 12 months I may be in a a lot better spot. […] Now, there’s a whole lot of work to be done. I’m not going to skate around that fact. I don’t think that is going to be easy in any way, shape, or form. However the work may be put in and this may be awesome.”
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To win his fifth profession WSM title, Shaw faces a tall task in a stacked field of superstars. Along with Shaw, the roster will likely include some type of reigning two-time champion Tom Stoltman, 2019 champion Martins Licis, and 2020 winner Oleksii Novikov.
One thing’s needless to say: If Shaw can overcome this final gauntlet of talented peers, his status as a living strongman legend may only grow in scope in a WSM swan song.
Featured image: @shawstrength on Instagram