Banbury area man qualifies for final of England's Strongest Man 2022

“My long-term goals are to compete at the top level in the sport, becoming the Strongest Man in the UK, and working towards the dream of getting an invite to Worlds Strongest Man.”
Banbury area man Patrick 'Paddy' Haynes qualifies for final of England's Strongest Man 2022Banbury area man Patrick 'Paddy' Haynes qualifies for final of England's Strongest Man 2022
Banbury area man Patrick 'Paddy' Haynes qualifies for final of England's Strongest Man 2022

A Banbury area man has qualified for the final of England's Strongest Man 2022 set for this summer in Liverpool.

Patrick ‘Paddy’ Haynes, who is from Twyford, recently qualified as one of the top 20 strongest men in England.

England’s Strongest Man competition is on his 25th birthday, on the first weekend in July. The event will be at the FitXPO in Liverpool, and will see the 20 athletes facing off in six events (Max Deadlift, Axle Press four reps, Dumbbell Press four reps, 400kg yoke walk, 155kg farmers walks and atlas stones).

Paddy said: “I'm really proud of this achievement, qualifying for the final which will take place in July, and one of the youngest to qualify.”

In order to qualify it required three lifts to be submitted via video (with all the weights being weighed on camera).

He added: “My lifts were a 156.3kg axle press, 252.2kg squat for five reps and a 194kg farmers hold (per hand) for 30 seconds. With my background growing up on a farm my farmers holds were by far my best lift, placing 3rd in the country for that specific lift.

“The top 20 strongest men, across the three lifts, in the country qualify, and I qualified at 14th out of around 50 entrants.”

Banbury area man Patrick 'Paddy' Haynes qualifies for final of England's Strongest Man 2022Banbury area man Patrick 'Paddy' Haynes qualifies for final of England's Strongest Man 2022
Banbury area man Patrick 'Paddy' Haynes qualifies for final of England's Strongest Man 2022

Paddy trains at a specially set up gym space on Kemps Farm in Twyford, and at EP gym in Banbury. He’s been training for years since his passion for the sport started at university. Prior to university Paddy was a keen long distance runner, and was an avid member of Adderbury Running Club as a teen.

He said: “Since then I've become obsessed with the sport, training four to five days a week with sessions often taking up to three hours, and training when I can after work.

“I've taken my bodyweight from 68kg in 2017 to a lean 125kg now in 2022. During the pandemic we converted an old garage on the farm into a strongman area for me to train in, and to allow me to keep training during lockdown.”

The winner of England’s Strongest Man goes to Britain's Strongest Man where the top three will receive an invite to the Worlds Strongest Man.

Paddy currently works with an International Mergers & Acquisitions firm as a senior associate, but coaches a handful of athletes in his free time.

This weekend on Sunday April 24 he will host the first ever "Haynes Farm Open" at the farm in Adderbury, which will see approximately 80 athletes competing across various categories.

Paddy added: “My long-term goals are to compete at the top level in the sport, becoming the Strongest Man in the UK, and work towards the dream of getting an invite to Worlds Strongest Man. England’s is a stepping stone, but at this stage of my career is a huge step up.

“The goal is to eventually transition towards the coaching side of things and open my own strongman training centre with my partner Emily.”