Once it was a sideshow – but this year, Ukranian soldiers competed with LGBTQ+ pioneers in a sport that’s being taken seriously
. Separately, they have addressed the challenges Tom, who is autistic, faced at school and in competition., most recently during mental health awareness week. While athletes in other sports are increasingly discussing their experiences with mental health, Strongman feels ahead of the curve.Partly this is because strongman can be such an isolated sport. Many of the athletes have coaches, but they aren’t with them every day, like in other individual sports: boxing, or tennis.
“And I think it comes down to the fact that all of us realize how much hard work and sacrifice it takes to get to this level.” “I wish I would have had that,” he says. “It would have given me a bigger opportunity to earn bigger money and you know, a lot of these guys are now pretty much relying on that, that sponsorship this or that, and it allows them to focus completely on their sport.”
“It’s such a common story: ‘I watched this with my dad at Christmas, and I want to pass it on to my kids,’” Bryce says.