- Nationality: British
- Height: 1.91m
- Weight: 160kg
Laurence stands at 6″3′, a height us mere mortals would consider tall but a relative dwarf compared to the most recent crop of strongmen. But don’t let this man’s stature fool you as Laurence has been Britain’s Strongest Man in 2012 and 2013. He is considered by many of his peers to have been the most improved athlete within these years. Shahlaei went on to win Europe’s Strongest Man in 2016.
Shahlaei has qualified for World’s Strongest Man eleven times and his best performance behind fellow countryman Terry Hollands in fourth place at WSM 2011. He looked set to contend for a podium position in 2012 but an unfortunately an injury led to him conceding his spot to new boy Graham Hicks.
Laurence is known as having the strongest legs in Britain and constantly performs well in squat events. His talents extend to moving events too, with standout performances in The Farmer’s Walk and The Frame Carry. As far as British strongmen go, Hollands has the better pedigree but Laurence is the up and coming talent and never ceasing to impress with his continual improvement.
If it all goes tits up, we think Laurence has a future rivalling strongman commentator Colin Bryce. Being articulate, knowledgeable and friendly, what’s not to like?!
Most recent achievement: Laurence Shahlaei’s most recent achievement is setting a new world record in The Car Walk event at Britain’s Strongest Man in 2016. This record was achieved while carrying a VW Beetle weighing in at 460Kg over a 20m distance and this was completed in a time of 11.92 seconds.
Here is the footage of Shahlaei’s world record for this specific Car Walk event:
