Adam Bishop is an English professional strongman. He is a two-time winner of the Britain's Strongest Man competition (2020, 2023)[2] and one of the best deadlifters in strongman.
He has also competed in rugby, as a winger[3] and in skeleton bobsleigh.[4]
Strongman career
[edit]Bishop refers to himself in the media as "one of the little guys" in the sport, despite weighing over 300 lbs constantly.[1][5] He started competing in open strongman competitions in 2012, having progressed from the under-105 kg category.[4] He secured second place at 2014 UK's Strongest Man and entered the heats for the World's Strongest Man in 2015, establishing himself as an up-and-coming talent.[6]
Bishop steadily improved his standings in the competition, narrowly missing a place in the finals of the 2016 World's Strongest Man when he was beaten in the Atlas Stones. In the 2018 World's Strongest Man competition, Bishop failed to get past the qualifying heats after losing against Johan Els again in the Atlas Stones event.[7] In 2018 World Tour Finals, he emerged second runner-up. In the 2019 World's Strongest Man competition, Bishop reached the finals for the first time, coming in ninth place overall.[8]
In January 2020, Bishop won his first Britain's Strongest Man competition, after coming in 2nd the previous year.[9] In the 2020 World's Strongest Man competition, Bishop reached the final once again and improved on his performance from the previous year, placing sixth overall.[10] In September, Bishop placed 2nd at Europe's Strongest Man,[11] while in December, he competed at the 2020 Shaw Classic and placed sixth overall.[12] In 2021 Giants Live World Open he emerged runner-up to Evan Singleton.
In 2023, Bishop won Britain's Strongest Man for the second time, after coming in second in 2021 and third in 2022.[13] In 2024, Bishop made it 2nd in the qualifiers in 2024's world's strongest man but had to withdraw due to injury. He established a world record in the moving deadlift ladder event. In 2025, he deadlited a personal best 470 kg (1,036 lb) at the World Deadlift Championships sharing second place with Austin Andrade, behind Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson's legendary 510 kg (1,124 lb) all-time world record, becoming one of only 11 men in strongman history to reach that number.
Other work
[edit]Bishop worked as an RFC Strength and Conditioning Coach for Harlequin F.C.[1] In 2021, Bishop left Harlequin F.C. to focus full-time on his strongman career.[14]
Personal records
[edit]- Deadlift (with multi-ply suit and straps) – 470 kg (1,036 lb) (2025 World Deadlift Championships and Strongman Open)
- Deadlift for reps (raw with straps) – 400 kg (882 lb) x 5 reps and 360 kg (794 lb) x 1 rep (2024 Britain's Strongest man)
- Deadlift ladder (moving) – 300–380 kg (661–838 lb) x 5 reps (2024 World's Strongest Man, group 3) (world record)[15]
- Hummer Tire Deadlift (15 inches off the floor) – 524 kg (1,155 lb) (2021 Shaw Classic)
- Giant Barbell Squat (for reps) – 340 kg (750 lb) × 5 reps (single-ply suit w/ wraps) (2019 World's Strongest Man)
- Log press – 181 kg (399 lb) (2021 Shaw Classic)
- Axle press – 180 kg (397 lb) (2018 Giants Live World Tour Finals)
- 5 Atlas Stones run (light set) – 100–180 kg (220–397 lb) 18.81 seconds (2021 Giants Live World Open)
- Frame carry (with straps) – 400 kg (882 lb) 20m course in 8.28 seconds (2019 Britain's Strongest Man) (world record)[16]
Training:
- Deadlift (with multi-ply suit and straps) – 460 kg (1,014 lb)
- Deadlift (raw with straps) – 425 kg (937 lb)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Adam Bishop". The World's Strongest Man. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Sunderland, Tom (18 January 2020). "Britain's Strongest Man 2020 Results: Adam Bishop Wins Title over Tom Stoltman". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Cameron, Ian (1 January 2018). "The remarkable links between rugby and World's Strongest Man competition". RugbyPass. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Adam Bishop - The Titan of Twickenham". Harlequin F.C. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Hemming, Martin (15 December 2019). "Help you train to be the world's strongest man? Of course — I'll be your barbell". The Times. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ "The World's Strongest Man 2015 Roundup". World's Strongest Man. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Butler, Matt (30 December 2018). "World's Strongest Man: Big boys don't cry but enormous men nearly do". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Gutman, Andrew. "Martins Licis Dethrones Thor Bjornsson at World's Strongest Man 2019". Muscle & Fitness. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Lockridge, Roger (2020-01-18). "Adam Bishop Wins 2020 Britain's Strongest Man". BarBend. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ Gutman, Andrew (15 November 2020). "Novikov Secures 2020 World's Strongest Man Victory (Updated)". BarBend. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ "Strongman Archives - 2020 Europe's Strongest Man". strongmanarchives.com. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ Lockridge, Roger (15 December 2020). "Brian Shaw Wins 2020 Shaw Classic — Recap And Results". BarBend. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ Lockridge, Roger (2023-01-30). "2023 Britain's Strongest Man Results — Adam Bishop Reclaims The Throne". BarBend. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ "ADAM BISHOP DEPARTS TO FOCUS ON BEING WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN". Harlquins Rugby Union. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ "STRENGTH RECORD, Section 01 - Deadlifts". www.strengthrecord.com. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ "STRENGTH RECORD, Section 10 - Arm carries". www.strengthrecord.com. Retrieved 11 April 2025.