Strong show again as Dhanni breaks more records

Factory strongman Dhanni Moar was on form at the weekend, breaking two more Scottish records and adding another to his collection as well as top performances in two weight classes.

The local strongman travelled to Glasgow with coach Bryan Pearson to compete at the city’s SECC on both Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday’s competition was the newly introduced Scottish Championships run by Official Strongman, where two disciplines of strength are fought out in a last man standing format.

Moar was competing in the under-105kg class and first up was the log lift. He lifted 120kg, 130kg and 140kg without too much fuss before attempting to break his own record (145kg) with 150kg.

He did so and requested 160kg on the log which if successful would beat the heavyweights’ attempts too.

Moar pressed the new 160kg record above his head in style with the Olympic split technique, which is something that causes a lot of grief for Moar from other athletes, simply because no-one else can do it to such effect.

Moar was instructed by Pearson to try and break the all-time Scottish log record of 170kg so requested 171kg. He cleaned the log to his chest fairly comfortably, took a deep breath and wasn’t far from pressing out before the giant weight came back to earth with a bang. Still smiling he used the two attempts permitted then began preparations for the deadlift.

Moar’s deadlift has come ahead recently and he hoped to register a massive 300kg which has eluded him thus far in his strongman career.

Opening at 280kg he stayed in the competition for four lifts, eventually pulling a whopping 320kg. He credits Pearson’s top-flight coaching for the new PB, and what makes the lift even more impressive is that Moar did not have the aid of a deadlift suit.

One of the most impressive feats of strength ever seen was Darren Wright’s new world record deadlift, He lifted 350kg, making history at under 90kg bodyweight, proving along with Moar that the days of “bigger is better” are well and truly over.

Finishing first on the log and second on the deadlift gave Moar first place overall in the U105kg class. He and U90 Wright both lifted also more than the open class, but in this new championship a competitor can only win the class they have entered.

Sunday saw the SFN expo host the Giants Live qualifier (open weight class) which would see one lucky strongman qualify for the World’s Strongest Man tour in Sweden this November.

Moar entered for a bit of a laugh – as he was in Glasgow anyway he had nothing to lose. Treating it as a fun day out proved to be the best approach as he put in one of his finest performances to date, beating men weighing as much as 27 stone.

He also set a new U105kg axle record with 161kg which equals the open axle record as well. He even attempted, and came agonisingly close to a 170kg axle press.

His 161kg press was good enough for third place from 16 competitors, and he placed in the top five in loading and the 150kg farmers walk event. In the atlas stones he was placed second behind eventual competition winner Will Baggot.

Loading the 180kg in competition is another great achievement for the self-employed joiner, who was the only competitor to budge the final 200kg stone.

In the deadlift for reps event 300kg was loaded on the bar and Moar made three reps with the world’s best deadlifter Eddie Hall shouting tips in his ear. He said it was a fantastic experience.

He finished the competition in sixth place out of 16 and for some, shouldn’t have competed as he was the lightest man in the field at 105kg. Fellow Shetlander Kenny Simm was also competing and finished 10th.

Moar thanked all his Sponsors for the support, saying: “Although it is an individual sport, I couldn’t perform to this level without my team behind me.

“I am totally indebted to them and owe all the records and podiums to them.”

Moar now has a total of eight Scottish records, one British record and is awaiting confirmation on a second.

He will be back in action next Sunday in Manchester where he will compete in the final of Britain’s Strongest Man U105kg.