A man is set to become the first Cumbrian to compete in England’s Strongest Man.
Daniel McNicholas, 30, a warehouse operative from Workington, competed in the qualifier for England’s Strongest Man on Saturday April 26 and went up against 49 of the country’s strongest men.
He came second, and was only half a point away from first place, which has qualified him to take part in the England’s Strongest Man final, hosted by Giant’s Live and filmed for Channel Five as part of the World’s Strongest Man series.
It’s not only a huge achievement for Daniel but also Cumbria as he is set to become the first Cumbrian to feature on the series.
Daniel said: “It’s pretty much one of the highest strongman events you can compete at in the country, so I’m chuffed to bits to be competing.
“If you’d asked me eight months ago when I first got back into it, I wouldn’t have ever thought that I’d be competing at England’s strongest man.
“It’s settling in now, but I couldn’t quite believe it when I qualified, because the standard was all of the strongest people in England competing.
“I didn’t expect it to come this soon, but I’m really proud of it.”
Daniel started out as a rugby player at 18 before moving onto body building and then later discovering strongman.
He said: “I competed in Cumbria’s strongest man in 2022, but then I didn’t do it for a couple of years. I picked it back up about eight months ago and I’ve won a few competitions since then.
“I train four days a week but the training depends on what is coming up in my next competition and you do have to pack in a lot of food, that is a big part of it all and it’s a lot of protein.
“But my family and friends have shown me a lot of support throughout it.”
Daniel holds Cumbria’s deadlift record at a whopping 400kg – that’s the same weight as a fully grown seven metre long American crocodile.
His favourite events involve sandbags – which see athletes carry and move heavy sandbags over a set distance in a test of endurance, strength, balance and coordination.
Daniel’s coach, Tom Owens, from Sunderland, who has previously won the title of England and Britain’s strongest man, also qualified for the final.
He said: “My coach Tom came third in the final, so we were both on the podium and we’ve both qualified for Giant’s Live, so it’s totally unreal.
“But I want to put Cumbria on the map too, the qualifier was in Gloucester, which is about five or six hours away and a lot of people there didn’t know Cumbria.”
Daniel also hugely credits Cumberland Strongman Academy, based in Workington, for helping him get back into the sport.
He trains there with Kieran McGee and said having a local gym that specialises in strongman has been essential in his recent success.
He said: “Cumberland Strongman Academy is where it all started, I got back into strongman when that gym first opened and it has really took off around here since then.
“It’s where I did my 400kg deadlift record and it’s got everything there that you need.”
The academy has had a string of recent success stories – including hosting Cumbria’s first ever international strongman event and training up Britain’s strongest man under the age of 17.
Ahead of competing in the England’s Strongest Man final in York in July, Daniel is also set to take part in the British Under 120kg finals in June and Cumbria’s Strongest Man on June 31.
He added: “I’m really looking forward to it, even just to compete at that level. I’m going up against someone who won Europe’s strongest man a few week ago.
“So I am excited, but I think I’m more excited to get training for it and see how I place up against the strongest people in our country.
“It’s a pathway to World’s Strongest Man, so if you do England, you move to Britain, then Europe and it keeps going up to the Worlds, so you climb the ranks from England and work your way up.
“I’ve never been on TV before, but it will be filmed for Channel Five and on TV for Christmas and new year.”
Alongside his own training, Daniel is also starting to offer coaching at Cumberland Strongman Academy.
Want to support Daniel on his journey? Potential sponsors are encouraged to get in touch with him via email at [email protected]
