Faires’ 22.2-meter Nicol Stone world record ultimately saw him finish the competition in fourth place overall — two points shy of tying bronze medalist Evan Singleton. Luke Stoltman scored his second major event win in September by claiming gold at the event (he won the 2021 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) contest two weeks prior), just one point ahead of his brother, 2021 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Tom Stoltman.
If you have not yet seen Faires’ world record Nicol Stones run, check out the video below, courtesy of Official Strongman‘s YouTube channel:
[Related: Hafthor Björnsson Wins First Professional Boxing Match By TKO Against Devon Larratt]
The Nicol Stones world record coming into the 2021 Giants Live World Tour Finals was Luke Stoltman’s 19.5 meters. In Glasgow, two other men bested that distance — Singleton reached 21.44 meters, and two-time Scotland’s Strongest Man (SSM) champion Andy Black dropped the stones at 21.86 meters.
Kevin Faires’ Strongman Career
Faires is a mainstay of elite strongman competition despite his strongman career being relatively young and his bodyweight being relatively low (under 300 pounds).
According to Strongman Archives, the 31-year-old Faires made his competitive strongman debut at the 2017 Strongman Champions League (SCL) Serbia to a runner-up finish. Although he did not win any of the 14 contests he has appeared in, he landed on the podium in five of them:
- 2019 Giants Live North American Open — Runner-up
- 2018 Giants Live North American Open — Third place
- 2017 Official Strongman Games — Runner-up
- 2017 SCL Curaçao — Runner-up
- 2017 SCL Serbia — Runner-up
[/quote]
Faires is historically strong in grip-based events and loading medleys (he won the loading medley in the 2021 WSM qualifying stage). His two most recent competitions — the 2021 Shaw Classic and the 2021 Giants Live World Tour Finals — resulted in fourth-place finishes.
When Faires competes on the world stage next, he will have the momentum of a new world record holder. We’ll see if he can convert that into a spot on the podium.
Featured image: @kf_strongman on Instagram
Click here to view the article.