When the 2025 World’s Strongest Man competition began, all eyes were on two men; defending champion and three-time winner Tom Stoltman and 2023 champion Mitchell Hooper. Could “The Albatross” go back-to-back and cement his legacy as an all-time great with a historic fourth title, or would Hooper regain the title that may have literally slipped from his grasp due to a hand injury he suffered during the 2024 final?
The answer was actually C: None of the Above. That’s because a man from South Africa who was considered a dark horse with potential to make the final pulled off what some experts felt was the greatest upset of the century to win the title. Rayno Nel was not a name that many outside the strongman community knew prior to the contest, but his was the last called out as the 2025 champion, having secured the title by half a point over Stoltman. Not even he saw himself winning the title in his first go.
“I had initially went in with the goal of making the final and being competitive,” Nel shared. “I shocked myself a bit.”
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Rayno Nel Wins World’s Strongest Man 2025 in Histo…
The rookie dominated the field to win the sport’s most prestigious title.
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Rayno Nel
From Unknown to Champion: Rayno Nel’s Rise
To know how Nel became the first man since Jouko Ahola to win the title in his debut year, one must go back to how he came up in the sport. Nel is from Krugersdorp, a mining city in the West Rand of Gauteng Province. He became an engineer by trade but also played rugby, which he said could be a religion in his part of the world. He discovered the sport of strongman via a local contest that was held every year.
“It was mostly just local guys doing it, like farmers in the community,” Nel said. “Then, they would forget about it for a year.”
Nel also saw Gerrit Badenhorst, a powerlifter and strongman that excelled in strength, who would do local demonstrations for schools and groups. Rugby was Nel’s ultimate dream until around three years ago while having a beer with family members that he had what he called a lightbulb moment.
“Let’s try strongman,” he thought to himself. While his country is a big place, he was fortunate enough to be near athletes that had experience, including men that had placed in the top two of their country’s top contests. Nel learned well and quickly. By 2023, he had not only entered that year’s South Africa’s Strongest Man contest, but he won it. Obviously, he didn’t know that was a sign of things to come, but he did understand he had potential.
“I think I did the sport for six or seven months, and I already won that. So, a little over a year later, I did my first Strongman Champions’ League (SCL) competition.”
SCL is a well-respected organization within the sport, and it serves as a launching pad for many stars of the sport. They host many national and international contests, and Nel wasted no time establishing himself in 2024, taking two wins and culminating with their world title by the end of that year. He would do the same in 2025 as well. Those wins did much more than give Nel confidence; they prepared him for the ultimate stage.
“It almost gave me a sense of, if I go to that next stage, I won’t be starstruck. I know I can be competitive.”
Nel arrived in Sacramento, California for the WSM event and was slotted in Group 3. He was joined by established contenders like Shane Flowers, Lucas Hatton, and even former runner-up Mateusz Kieliszkowski. Nel never finished below second in any event through the qualifiers, and took the top spot of his heat, moving him on to the finals.
Nel appeared to be poised to do the same in the finals, but the fourth event, the Flintstone Press Max, resulted in an eighth-place finish. That opened the door for either Stoltman or Hooper to make their move. Nel and Hooper were tied for the overall lead going into the final event, the Atlas Stones.
The objective for the final event is to lift five stones, increasing in weight, from the ground to its podium in the fastest time. Stoltman was once called “King of the Stones”, and Hooper was a technical master. Stoltman breezed through the event in less than 32 seconds, which gave him the event win. Nel finished third with four stones in 30.17 seconds. Hooper finished less than one second behind Nel. By the time points were allocated based on finish, Nel had clinched the title by less than one point. He had no idea of the history behind the win, but he knew his future was changed forever.
“So many things have changed.”
Rayno Nel
How Rayno Nel Beat Tom Stoltman and Mitchell Hooper
Like the Mr. Olympia title in bodybuilding, being World’s Strongest Man becomes a part of the winner’s legacy. Nel’s name will be referenced forever because of his incredible performance. There are responsibilities that come with the title such as representing the sport and traveling the world. Nel is privileged to be in his position but is also passionate about his full-time engineering career, and he has no plans to give that up anytime soon.
“For me, it’s such a nice thing to have something to switch off the strongman part and focus on a bit that is completely different.”
When he is in strongman mode, his training and prep has been on point, and he is more confident this year than last. Nel cited working on his overhead pressing ability as well as maintaining his strength in areas that he excels in such as the deadlift and carries.
Nel hasn’t been preparing for this alone, however. Along with his wife, Monya, he has been working with coach Terence Bosman and renowned nutritionist Nathan Payton to make sure he is at his best for this competition. He had originally planned to compete at the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic but withdrew due to a salmonella infection and to focus on defending his own title. Now that he is the man being hunted, he is aware of the 24 other men that are locked in on dethroning him.
“There are many more guys that are going to be a threat,” he acknowledged. “That said, I know what Tom and Mitchell can do, but that must take up less than 1% of my energy.”
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Can Rayno Nel Defend His Title in 2026?
The 25 best strongmen in the world are gathering in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from April 23-26 to compete in the 2026 edition of the World’s Strongest Man. Clearly, Nel is unable to fly under the radar this time around because he is the defending champion. On top of that, now both Stoltman and Hooper have their sights set on reminding him who the final boss of the sport truly is.
Despite that, Nel isn’t only thinking of the final anymore. That first trophy is lonely on his mantle, and he fully intends to bring another one back to South Africa to continue building his own legacy in the sport. As for Hooper and Stoltman’s intentions, Nel is doing what many champions in his position would do – controlling his own prep and effort.
“When I get to a competition, I don’t care who the guys are or what history says, I want to do as well as I can.”
You can follow coverage of the World’s Strongest Man by following them on Instagram @theworldsstrongestman.