Scotsman Tom Stoltman takes the title of World's Strongest Man

The 27-year-old athlete finished runner-up in the competition last year, but scooped the 2021 title in Sacramento, California.

Tom's final score of 45.5 put him ahead of four-time winner Brian Shaw's 42.5 and Maxime Boudreault's 36.5.

The new champion, from Invergordon, stands at 6ft8 and weighs 397 pounds.

READ MORE: INTERVIEW: Highlander that made history twice at World's Strongest Man 2020

He is the younger brother of five-times Scotland's Strongest Man Luke Stoltman – the British Log Lift record-holder, who came in seventh overall.

As well as the log lift, participants had deadlift gigantic toolboxes supported by barbells amid almost 29C heat.

Tom excelled in the Atlas Stones event, with that being a specialist category for him.

Tom Stoltman lifting the Atlas Stones at a previous event

He managed to load five stones on to pedestals in just 20.21 seconds, far faster than the runner-up's 28.63 seconds.

Tom is nicknamed "The Albatross" and his brother Luke "The Highland Oak". 

He almost rejected Luke's pleas for him to take up weight training when young because of his love for football – he's a devoted Rangers fan.

The Highlander spoke to The National last year after becoming the first person with autism to stand on the World's Strongest Man competition podium.

He also used the coronavirus lockdown to break the world record for the heaviest Atlas stone ever lifted, which was a 286kg stone in his home gym in the town of Invergordon.

Family has always been a key support for Stoltman, who was able to rely on his mum and sister when he struggled growing up with autism, which he says he kept hidden from his peers until he was a teenager.

“When I started telling my close mates, they understood and really accepted who I was,” he told us.

“It was the same when I started Strongman. I wanted to make it a bit more vocal, just to let people know I’m not shy, I’m not awkward, it’s just that this is what I’ve got and this is how I live with it.

“I still struggle with it sometimes, I take a lot more time than other people to get some things processed and I’m still kind of nervous about new things.

“I always wanted to be successful for the people that have additional needs. I’ve done a lot of talks on it and I want everyone to know that, just because we’ve got a label on our heads, it doesn’t mean that you are different from anyone else, we’ve just got that additional hurdle we have to get over.

“Just because you’ve got additional needs, just because people have told you ‘you can’t do this’ or ‘you can’t do that’, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to do it.

“That’s what a lot of people said to me in school. I wanted to prove them wrong, and that’s what I’m doing.”