The competitive strongman season can be brutal. Elite strongmen travel the globe to compete in high-stress contests featuring the heaviest weights of any sport. Strongmen routinely maneuver thousands upon thousands of pounds of odd objects on difficult terrains under time pressure, which can take a severe toll on the body.

The late 2023 into 2024 strongman season has been a story of countless injuries of the sport’s best. From Trey Mitchell to Mateusz Kieliszkowski to Martins Licis to Oleksii Novikov to Bobby Thompson to Gavin Bilton to Adam Bishop and now to the reigning two-time Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) Luke Stoltman.

On May 22, Stoltman published a video on the Stoltman Brothers YouTube channel to relay that he had suffered a torn biceps tendon. While the tendon is not detached from the bone, it will sideline Stoltman from competition. See what he had to say below:

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Stoltman felt pain in his right arm while familiarizing himself with objects at the 2024 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest, which his younger brother, Tom Stoltman, won. When picking up sandbags, Stoltman sensed something was awry. The Car Walk, featuring a narrow yoke, further cemented Luke’s awareness that he was injured.

Luke’s surgeon explained that there was a three-to-five-centimeter hole in Luke’s biceps tendon. So, while the tendon remains attached, it is not healthy. The assumption is the injury was first sustained at the 2024 ESM in either the Webster Stones or the Atlas Stones.

I’ve had pins and needles in my hand.

If Luke continued competing with his injured biceps tendon, he would almost certainly rupture it “imminently,” which would require surgery. A rupture would require surgery to repair. Fortunately for Luke, surgery is not currently necessary. However, he will be sidelined from competition for approximately 12 weeks, though he feels he might be back after six weeks.

Luke can still train using techniques that don’t load the biceps, such as deadlifts, squats, and overhead presses. Luke intends to compete at the 2024 Strongest Man on Earth at the 2024 Shaw Classic in August but will play it by ear to ensure he can properly load the biceps before then.

Featured Image: @luke.stoltman on Instagram

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