SA’S RAYNO NEL IS WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN
Former rugby player and engineer Rayno Nel has been crowned the strongest man in the world.
Nel caused one of the biggest upsets in the tournament when he beat defending champion Tom Stoltman by half a point. Stoltman has won three World’s Strongest Man titles.
The tournament was held in California.
The 30-year-old Nel hails from Upington in the Northern Cape. He attended Hoërskool Duineveld and was recruited by Andrie ‘Skillie” Bester for rugby.
Nel was recruited alongside World Cup-winning Springbok Jasper Wiese.
Bester said that “from the outset, he (Nel) was more than just a player”.
Taking the title took a lot of hard work. Rugby365 reports that coming into day two, 9 points adrift, defending champion, Stoltman claimed victories in both of Sunday’s events, but ultimately fell just half a point short of taking a fourth title.
The end results came down to the final pairing in the Atlas Stones. That’s when the South African took the win by less than a second.
Nel, who is currently doing his master’s degree in electrical engineering, works at a commercial solar energy company.
He had to train after work and in between study time.
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