Fojtů Wins Glasgow as Mark Felix Reclaims the Hercules Hold World Record
UPLIFT IRON CLUBGlasgow's Czech One-Two: Fojtů Won the Whole Contest, Not Just a Headline
Glasgow's OVO Hydro closed the 2026 Giants Live season with a result that said as much about the future of strongman as the present. Ondřej Fojtů finished the World Tour Finals on 51.5 points, six clear of fellow Czech competitor Matyáš Funiok on 45.5. England's Andrew Flynn completed the podium with 37 points. A victory margin is only part of the story: the 24-year-old champion won three of the five scored events, survived a weaker showing in the moving medley and still had the final discipline under control.
The scoreboard deserves reading carefully. Evan Singleton and Pavlo Kordiyaka shared fourth on 36.5 points; Jack Forgacs was sixth with 35.5; defending champion Luke Richardson finished seventh with 32.5. Those totals explain why the final positions cannot be reduced to a single spectacular overhead lift. Athletes must collect points from very different demands: pressing a huge log, completing progressively heavier deadlifts, moving awkward implements quickly, resisting a punishing grip test and climbing stairs with heavy blocks. A specialist can win a highlight reel and still lose the overall contest.
Fojtů had entered Glasgow with momentum from earlier Giants Live victories in 2026. The important change is that the momentum translated into a complete five-event performance under championship pressure. He did not need to be first in every discipline. Seventh in the farmer's walk into yoke medley cost him ground, but wins in the deadlift ladder and power stairs, alongside a share of the log-lift victory, created a margin that the field could not close.
There is also a meaningful generational angle. A Czech one-two in a major British arena would have been an unusual prediction a few seasons ago. Fojtů and Funiok now look like two athletes who can influence the shape of future international lineups rather than merely fill them. Funiok was only 21 at the time of this podium, while Fojtů already had multiple major victories behind him.
The photograph accompanying this section shows Fojtů celebrating at an earlier 2026 Giants Live contest, not the Glasgow finale. It captures the athlete rather than pretending to document a different event. The Glasgow results themselves make the stronger point: this was a championship won through versatility, smart scoring and the ability to perform again after an imperfect event.
Matyáš Funiok at 21: A Runner-Up Finish That Changes the Strongman Conversation
Matyáš Funiok's second place deserves more than a passing mention beneath his countryman's victory. At 21, he returned to the podium after becoming Giants Live's youngest podium finisher at the September Strongman Open, an achievement that matters because the sport typically rewards years of technical practice, accumulated strength and experience handling bizarrely shaped equipment. He was not simply the young athlete who happened to be present when others faltered. His 45.5-point total came from contributing across the entire five-event program.
Consider how he scored in the moments that decide a tight competition. He was among the athletes to clear 200 kilograms in the log lift, completed three bars of the deadlift ladder in 26.40 seconds, and placed third in the farmer's walk into super yoke with a 27.54-second run. In the Hercules Hold he lasted 1 minute 12.63 seconds, and in the final power stairs he finished third, behind only Fojtů and Ben Glasscock. That profile is valuable: it shows a young competitor who can handle overhead strength, moving speed, grip endurance and repeated heavy pickups without an obvious collapse in the closing event.
He also arrived with evidence that his rise was not a one-night accident. Earlier in 2026 he had already reached a Giants Live podium at the Strongman Open, and Glasgow offered a much clearer answer to the question of whether that result could be repeated against another demanding field. He did not win Glasgow, but he stayed close enough to force Fojtů to deliver in the final heat. That is an accomplishment with competitive consequences, not merely a social-media milestone.
For context, a strongman score is relative to the competitors in that event. A fifth-place deadlift result may still involve an extraordinary weight, while a podium result in a moving medley can be decided by a few seconds. Funiok's consistent scoring across different disciplines is therefore more revealing than any one number from the evening. A coach looking at this result would ask where the next few points can be found, not demand that every lift become a world-record attempt.
What makes the Czech breakthrough interesting is the combination of two distinct career stages: an established young winner in Fojtů and an even younger challenger in Funiok. The pair finished first and second, but they are not interchangeable athletes. The next question is whether Funiok can convert consistency into individual event wins while preserving the versatility that brought him to Glasgow's podium.
The World Log Lift Challenge: Six Men at 200 kg and a 232 kg Record Attempt
Glasgow began with a statement of how deep elite overhead pressing has become. Six competitors cleared the 200-kilogram barrier in the World Log Lift Challenge, an enormous load to clean from the lap to the chest and drive overhead. Jack Forgacs, also known as Jack Osborn, shared the event title with Fojtů. Both men attempted 232 kilograms, a weight that would have moved beyond Cheick “Iron Biby” Sanou's standing 231-kilogram mark, but neither completed a successful record lift.
The event was not a casual gym overhead press with a thicker bar. A strongman log is a large cylinder with neutral-grip handles, a demanding clean phase and an overhead finish that must satisfy the event's judging standard. The clean can consume energy before the press even begins. Competitors need upper-back stability, trunk rigidity, leg drive and the timing to move from the rack position into a controlled lockout. A technically imperfect attempt can look very close to success and still be a miss.
That distinction matters with the 232-kilogram attempts. Fojtů came close but could not complete the required lockout. The drama of a near miss should not be rewritten as a record, and a shared event victory should not be confused with a world-record performance. The shared event title and the unsuccessful 232-kilogram record attempts are the important outcomes. A discrepancy in one winning lift total makes it unwise to assign an identical precise weight to both winners.
Funiok, Luke Richardson, Pavlo Kordiyaka and Evan Singleton also cleared 200 kilograms. Richardson's successful 200-kilogram press was a personal best and gave the defending overall champion an encouraging opening. A good first event did not guarantee a strong overall finish, though. It simply banked points before four very different tests began.
For a recreational lifter, the useful lesson is not to copy a 200-kilogram log session. The carryover comes from learning to brace, maintain a strong front-rack position and progress pressing skill without losing control. Strict presses, push presses, upper-back work and sensible practice with a light log or neutral-grip implement can build the foundations. Heavy overhead lifts should be learned with appropriate equipment, clear space and competent spotting or coaching. The elite athletes on this stage have spent years turning a chaotic-looking implement into a repeatable movement.
The 400 kg Deadlift Ladder and Power Stairs: Two Event Wins Built the Title
The World Tour Finals was not decided by the opening log lift. Fojtů's clearest separation came from the two events that rewarded speed under very heavy loads: the deadlift ladder and the closing power stairs. In the deadlift ladder, athletes faced four barbells weighing 330, 360, 380 and 400 kilograms, with a 60-second limit. Fojtů completed all four in 32.59 seconds. Andrew Flynn also finished the ladder, but took 33.82 seconds. That narrow difference was worth one additional point at the top of a field where each placing mattered.
The rest of the ladder shows why this was not merely a max-deadlift contest. Forgacs completed three lifts in 23.76 seconds, while Ben Glasscock finished three in 24.23 and Funiok did three in 26.40. These were not failed efforts just because they stopped before the fourth bar. The event rewards the combination of absolute strength, fast setup, clean transitions and a realistic assessment of what can be completed within the clock. Someone who can deadlift 400 kilograms once in isolation may still lose to a competitor who handles the preceding three bars more efficiently.
Fojtů entered the final discipline with a lead but still needed to defend it against Funiok. The power stairs required competitors to repeatedly lift and move heavy implements up successive steps, with loads ranging from 200 to 250 kilograms. The task taxes grip, hips, legs and breathing at the same time. Fojtů finished first in 44.06 seconds, just ahead of Glasscock in 44.13 seconds and Funiok in 44.89 seconds. That final win added 12 points and secured Fojtů's overall total of 51.5.
Seven hundredths of a second separated the first two on the stairs, a reminder that strongman is sometimes a sprint dressed as a maximal-strength sport. A slightly slower pickup, a wasted adjustment of the hands or an awkward step can decide the event. Fojtů's combination of heavy pulling and fast movement is one reason his 2026 form has been so hard to beat.
There was also a painful lesson for Forgacs. He had been in contention for the overall podium after strong performances in the log, deadlift and moving medley, but lost ground on the power stairs and finished sixth overall. One weak discipline can erase several excellent earlier results. For training, the principle is to practise the actual task: heavy deadlifts alone do not teach rapid transitions, and squats alone do not reproduce repeated floor-to-step pickups. Controlled loaded carries, hinge strength and short bouts of technical work under moderate fatigue are more useful foundations than chasing maximal attempts every session.
The accompanying deadlift-ladder photograph is illustrative footage from a different Giants Live event, not a claim that the pictured athlete performed this specific Glasgow run. The actual Glasgow times and weights are dramatic enough without embellishment.
Mark Felix Reclaims the Hercules Hold World Record at 60
If the overall title belonged to Fojtů, the emotional moment of the Glasgow show belonged to Mark Felix. At 60 years old, the veteran strongman returned as a guest athlete in the Hercules Hold and reclaimed the world record with a time of 1 minute 43.81 seconds. The feat was remarkable not only because of his age but because the previous record had already been broken earlier in the same contest. Australian Eddie Williams lasted 1 minute 34.50 seconds, moving beyond Felix's old 1:32.37 mark. Felix then stepped onto the stage and went further.
The Hercules Hold is one of the sport's simplest events to describe and most punishing to experience. The athlete stands between two heavy hinged pillars, each pulling outward through a handle. The job is to resist that opening force for as long as possible. In Glasgow, the stated apparatus weight was 200 kilograms on each side. This is not equivalent to holding a 400-kilogram barbell, because lever geometry, handle position and the direction of force all affect what the hands must resist. Treating the event as a straightforward sum of kilograms would be misleading.
Grip endurance is the obvious limiting factor, but not the only one. Shoulder position, upper-back tension, stance and the ability to stay composed while the hands begin to slip can all influence a hold. Unlike a deadlift where the effort is over once the bar is locked out, the Hercules Hold demands sustained force without a clear finishing rep. A competitor may appear motionless while fighting an extraordinary amount of tension through the forearms and torso.
Felix's performance also changed the narrative of the event in real time. Williams had already delivered a world-class effort. Singleton lasted approximately 1 minute 29.84 seconds, and Fojtů recorded about 1 minute 25.13 seconds, valuable scores for the overall contest. Felix, however, was not collecting points toward the World Tour Finals title; his guest appearance was a separate record attempt. His 1:43.81 belongs in the record discussion, not in the overall standings as an extra competitor.
For ordinary lifters, this is a good reason to take grip training seriously without trying to imitate the elite event. Farmer's carries, timed hangs, suitcase holds and thick-handle work can strengthen the hands and improve tolerance for loaded movement. Start with short, clean sets and stop before the grip fails in an unsafe position. A heavy implement falling near feet or equipment is not an acceptable price for an extra second. Progress the load or duration gradually, and keep at least some training dedicated to opening and closing the hands through a full range of motion.
The bigger story is longevity. Felix's record does not prove that every 60-year-old should attempt a maximal grip hold, but it does show how specialised skill, preparation and years of training can remain relevant long after most athletes retire from top-level competition. Glasgow's loudest moment may have come from its oldest performer.
Farmer's Walk, Super Yoke and the Cost of One Weak Event
One event in Glasgow prevented Fojtů from running away with the title by an even wider margin. In the farmer's walk into super yoke medley, athletes carried 150 kilograms in each hand before moving under a 450-kilogram yoke. The time limit was 60 seconds. Pavlo Kordiyaka won in 23.63 seconds, followed by Evans Nana in 24.31 and Funiok in 27.54. Fojtů placed seventh in 35.45 seconds. He was still the eventual champion, but that one discipline cost him points and briefly made the overall race more interesting.
The medley is a particularly unforgiving combination. The farmer's implements load the hands and upper back while the athlete tries to cover ground without unnecessary steps. The yoke then changes the demand: a huge axial load must be stabilised through the trunk and hips while the athlete keeps the frame from swaying. The fastest competitor is not always the one who can lift the most in a static gym movement. Transitions matter. A clumsy turn or slow pickup can be more expensive than a small difference in raw strength.
Kordiyaka's event win helped him share fourth overall with Singleton on 36.5 points. It was a reminder that an athlete can have a spectacular result in one discipline and still need consistency elsewhere to reach the podium. Singleton's fourth place was especially notable because he managed only one bar in the deadlift ladder while dealing with a back issue. The strongman format exposes weaknesses brutally; it also rewards the ability to rescue points when the ideal performance is unavailable.
The wider standings tell a similar story. Andrew Flynn's third place came from reliable scoring, including a second-place deadlift ladder result. Luke Richardson opened with a 200-kilogram personal best in the log but finished seventh overall. Tom Stoltman withdrew after two events, while Luke Stoltman battled through the contest and placed eleventh. The event was not a referendum on who is strongest in a single lift. It was an accumulated test of power, speed, grip, technical efficiency and recovery across a long evening.
That is the useful takeaway for someone training outside professional strongman. Build a broad base rather than treating a one-rep maximum as the whole definition of strength. Pair hinge work with carries, pressing with upper-back stability and heavy sets with enough conditioning to recover between efforts. A simple weekly plan might include one heavy lower-body session, one pressing session and one lighter day of carries or sled work. Keep the implements controllable, choose distances you can finish safely and add load only when movement quality stays consistent.
Finally, respect the difference between a photograph and a result. The yoke image shown here illustrates the apparatus at a different competition. The Glasgow record is the set of times, loads and placements, not the background of an unrelated photograph. With Fojtů taking three event wins, Funiok reaching the podium at 21 and Felix reclaiming a record at 60, the 2026 finale managed to showcase both strongman's emerging generation and one of its most enduring legends.
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