Rob comprehensively defeated his closest rivals, beating USA’s Nick Best by 9 points, with Adam Derks in 3 rd place, 16.5 points adrift. In 2017 Kearney was able to win the Giants Live North American Open title, in Martinsville, Indiana. Kearney used this style to great effect in establishing an American record of 216kg (476lb).

This technique, employed by previous world record holder Raimonds Bergmanis of Latvia and Misha Koklyaev of Russia, has been criticised by some competitors. In 2022, Rob achieved his best finish at the Arnold Strongman Classic, coming in a creditable 5 th, with second place event placings in the Double T Squat as well as the 125kg (276lb) Monster Dumbbell.Ī certain controversy has existed around Rob’s use of the split jerk when log lifting. He has been unable to compete at World’s since, due to a serious triceps injury. Rob eventually lost out in the “stone-off”. Failing to progress from his heats the first two years, Rob was agonisingly close to making the final in 2019 after finishing 2 nd in his heat, 2 points ahead of Britain’s Luke Stoltman. Kearney successfully qualified for the 2017 World’s Strongest Man and returned in 20. A year later Rob won his first big international contest in Martinville, Indiana, claiming top spot at the Giants Live North American Open. In 2015, Rob placed 5 th at the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships, but the big turning point in his career came in 2016, when he won the World Log Lift Championships, competing as a heavy weight. Early contest did not go well, but Kearney was hooked.

His lack of tumbling ability led him into powerlifting where he built a base of strength which would help him transition into strongman. Kearney’s path into competitive strongman began in cheerleading where he would routinely throw competitors into the air and catch them. Rob hopes to raise awareness and acceptance for athletes of varying sexuality through his involvement in strongman, which he feels will help to breakdown negative stereotypes of the LGBTQ+ community. This has not prevented him from winning international contests and achieving lifts that have led to him becoming Official Strongman’s strongest pound-for-pound strongman in the world.Ī former schoolteacher, Kearney and his husband Joey live in Brooklyn New York. Kearney has held multiple American log lift records as well as the world log lift title, beating much larger competitors Kearney’s stature of 5’ 10” and 140kg (308lb), though large by most standards, is diminutive compered to many strongmen. Rob Kearney is an American professional strongman, renowned for his incredible pound-for-pound strength and for being the first openly gay strongman competing at the sport’s top level.

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