Official Strongman Games 2025 - European Championships - reportage and results

On August 2-3, 2025, the Official Strongman Games took place in York, United Kingdom, and it was the European Championships. And I couldn't miss this competition mainly because of 9 reasons in the form of Czech competitors and another 3 fighters from Slovakia. Due to the size of the competition as such and the number of competitors, I will focus in this article mainly on our strongmen and strongwomen to see their performances directly.

It was a classic two-day competition divided into several categories Men Open, up to 105, up to 90, up to 80 kilograms, Masters and Masters 50+, then Women Open, up to 64 and up to 82 kilograms. You can imagine the number of competitors, when in each category there was an average of 15 competitors, in reality between 10 and 18. Still, logistically and organizationally a massacre. The wait must have been really long and very difficult.

So everybody tried these disciplines:

• Deadlift
• Loglift
• Sandbag Toss
• Super Yoke
• Sandbag Steeplechase

I can say for myself that it was definitely not an easy or light race, but the ratio of the running disciplines to the push ones was pretty even. So let's take a look at the performances of the Czech athletes.

Deadlift

The classic 18" deadlift for repeats. That's how simple it was at the beginning. But the starting discipline still showed how balanced the starting field can be.

Men Open: This weight class had 320 kg on the line. Jan Lacina came in a split second place with 9 reps. Matthias Funiok managed one less, 8 reps and it was already a split sixth place. Lubos Klinecky with 7 repetitions took tenth place.

Men up to 105 kg. Three reps of Tomas Placek earned him 11th place. Martin Horky managed 2 reps. Benjamín Machala did better, placing 8th for 5 reps.

Men up to 90 kg. Filip Zajíček managed 7 reps and took 5th place. Lukáš Váňa managed 6 reps. Men up to 80 kg: The lightest men lifted 260 kg. Michael Neubauer took 6th place for 6 reps. Petr Kalivoda took 13th place with three repetitions.

Women Open. Jana Roubalová managed the discipline, she took 8th place for one repetition.

Loglift

The second discipline was the royal loglift. Lifting a giant log above your head for the maximum number of reps.

Men Open: The log weighed 150 kg. Matyas Funiok tied for third place for 7 reps. Jan Lacina tied for sixth place for 6 reps. Lubos Klinecky 13th place for 2 reps. Men up to 105 kg: 140kg on log. Tomas Placek managed one repetition. Martin Horky unfortunately scored a zero, as did 4 other competitors. Benjamín Machala took a split first place for a great 6 reps.

Men up to 90 kg: Loglift loaded to 130 kg. Lukas Vanya took a great second place for 6 reps. Filip Zajíček managed 2 reps and that was enough for a 9th place.

Men up to 80 kg. Petr Kalivoda managed 6 reps and finished in third place. Michael Neubauer did 2 reps and took 10th place.

Women Open. Most of the starting field, including Jana, scored zero. Only 3 competitors broke the log.

Sandbag Toss

Sandbag toss over the bar. A spectacular discipline, but the spectator can't really imagine what a chore it is. When I say 15 kg, everyone imagines something about that heavy, like a car wheel. Almost anyone can carry that, but could the same person take that bike and throw it 4 metres over the bar? I don't think so... Anyway, each of the competitors had 5 bags to throw over the bar.

Men Open: 18 - 28 kg. Matyas Funiok threw all 5 bags in 19.03 seconds, enough for a great 5th place. Lubos Klinecky threw 4 bags with an intermediate time of 14.76, which earned him 11th place. Jan Lacina also managed to throw 4 bags with a time of 21.2 seconds, which was 13th place in the discipline

Men up to 105 kg: 17 - 25 kg. Martin Horky managed 4 bags in 25,43 seconds, which earned him 9th place. Tomas Placek threw 3 bags in 32,33 seconds and took 13th place. Benjamin Machala managed all the bags in 17.96 seconds and finished second on the discipline.

Men up to 90 kg: 15 - 23 kg. Filip Zajicek threw all bags in 47.16 seconds and finished a great third. Lukáš Váňa tossed four bags in 16.63 seconds and finished 9th. It is fair to say that only three competitors managed all 5 bags and Filip among them.

Men up to 80 kg: 14 - 20 kg. Michael Neubauer tossed 3 bags in 18,65 seconds and placed 9th. Petr Kalivoda finished 14th for tossing 2 bags in 27,86 seconds.

Women Open: 12 - 17 kg. Jana managed 4 bags in 19,77 seconds and this earned her 5th place in the event.

Super Yoke

Super Yoke design that is worn on the back for distance and time. Here the competitors were tasked with crossing and completing 24 metres.

Men Open: Yoke loaded to 420 kg. Here I have to say that it was a real sprint. Most of the competitors were literally running. Matthias Funiok took gold in the event with a time of 16.65 seconds. Great. Jan Lacina 18,95 seconds took 5th place. 2,5 seconds difference, where 4 other competitors fit. Really close. Lubos Klinecky finished 8th with a time of 21.7 seconds.

Men up to 105 kg. Martin Horky finished 10th with a time of 29,92 seconds. 22.8 meters and 14th place. Benjamin Machala again. Third place with a time of 20.86 seconds.

Men up to 90 kg: 350 kg loaded. Filip Zajíček was the best sprinter in the starting field. Gold on the discipline in 14,46 seconds. Lukáš Váňa took 9th place with a time of 25.04 seconds.

Men up to 80 kg: The lightest men had 320 kg on the yoke. Michael Neubauer finished 9th with a time of 25,84. Petr Kalivoda was 12th with a time of 37.31 seconds.

Women Open.

Sandbbag Steeplechase

A great finish to the race, a running event that had one job, and that was to squeeze out the last vestiges of strength in each of the competitors. Their task was to get the variously heavy sandbags to the pedestal in the shortest possible time. Each competitor had to carry 2 bags, but each time at the marked place they had to put the bag down and pick it up again and carry it to the finish line. That's why I write 4 bags below, because that's defacto what it is.

Men's Open: 4 bags, each 140 kg and 40 meters in total. And I'll say it straight out, this was a great show to watch. First place in the event, Matyas Funiok, all 4 bags in 32.36 seconds. Second place Jan Lacina, also 4 bags in 34.07 seconds. Lubos Klinecky also managed all 4 bags and took 9th place with a time of 41.03 seconds. Again I can add so close results were.

Men up to 105 kg: 4 bags 2x 125 kg and 2x 140 kg for a total of 40 meters. Martin Horky did all the bags in 65,51 seconds. Tomas Placek did three bags in 37.38 seconds, which was 11th place. Benjamín Machala then took 7th place for all bags in a time of 68.1 seconds.

Men up to 90 kg: 4 bags, 4x 125 kg for a total of 40 meters. Filip Zajicek produced a fantastic finish to win the event, completing all bags in 31.42 seconds. Lukáš Váňa then took 9th place when he managed 4 bags in 38.13 seconds.

Men up to 80 kg: 2x 100 kg and 2x 125 kg for a total of 40 meters. Petr Kalivoda managed to carry all the bags in 42,52 seconds and won him the 4th place. Michael Neubauer carried three bags in 25.14 seconds. It was enough for 8th place.

Women Open: 4 bags weighing 100 kg for a total of 40 meters. Jana Roubalova took the win in the event, bringing all 4 bags to the finish in 51.74 seconds. A great finish.

At the end of the race, I think everyone was glad to be done. The whole Czech delegation can be proud of their results. And even if some of them didn't win a medal, it is still a great experience from a big international race, which, I dare say, all present will capitalize on in the coming seasons at international level. I will not give the overall results here. I would like to highlight especially our athletes.

Men Open:

• Matyas Funiok - 52,5 points and great 2nd place.
• Jan Lacina - 42,5 points and great 6th place.
• Luboš Klinecký - 20 points and great 12th place.

Men up to 105 kg:

• Benjamín Machala - Slovakia - 54,5 points - 3rd place.
• Martin Horky - 27 points and great 11th place.
• Tomas Placek - 23 points and great 12th place.

Men up to 90 kg:

• Filip Zajíček - 74 points and great 2nd place.
• Lukáš Váňa - 56 points and great 7th place.

Men up to 80 kg:

• Michael Neubauer - 32 points and great 8th place.
• Petr Kalivoda - 28 points and great 11th place.

Women Open:

• Jana Roubalova - 41 points and great 4th place.

I will mention:

Women up to 73 kg:

• Karin Krchlíková - Slovakia - 51,5 points - 8th place.

Women up to 64 kg:

• Tatiana Cousins - Slovakia - 39 points - 6th place.

Congratulations to all of them and I wish them further success.

Image sources:Instagram