WEYMOUTH strongman talent Kane Francis labelled his victory in England’s Strongest Man as the best of his career.
Francis remarkably overturned a 4.5-point deficit to leader Andrew Flynn by winning the final event, the famous Atlas stones, in just 18.54 seconds to take the title in York.
Victory hands Francis, nicknamed 'The Hurricane', a place at Britain’s Strongest Man, as he looks to make a second consecutive appearance at World’s Strongest Man.
For Francis, now a regular on the Giants Live tour and the Strongman Champions League circuit, the win surpassed all of his previous achievements.
He told Echosport: “The standard in England since last year has totally levelled up so, to come away with the win, I was just over the moon.
READ MORE: Kane Francis takes fifth at Britain's Strongest Man 2023
“The last event, the Atlas stones, I was in second place and Andrew was ahead. The Atlas stones is my best event.
“I was confident but I needed five people between me and him to overtake him by half a point.
“Luckily, I won the stones, I was the only person sub-20 seconds and there were six people between me and him, so I beat him by a point and a half.
“One of the things with Strongman is that it helps to win events but it’s how you perform across all the events across the board, that showed in the end.
“To me personally, it means the most out of any win I’ve had, just because it’s the title of my nation. It’s massive and hard to win, especially with the line-up we’ve got.”
Francis is next in action at the prestigious Strongman Classic on Saturday, July 13 at the Royal Albert Hall.
“It’s one of the biggest venues on the whole Giants Live tour,” Francis added.
“I was very shocked to get that invite. Six or seven of them were in the final of World’s Strongest Man this year so that is going to be one hell of a line-up.”
Francis will also keep himself sharp by competing on the Champions League circuit, with events in Estonia, Dubai, Finland and more lined up.
“With Strongman you’ve got to be strong all the time,” he said.
“It’s so versatile, you have to be adaptable. If you want to grow as an athlete it’s very important to have that adaptability to turn up and perform.”
The secret to Francis’ success does not lie solely with him, however.
The Weymouth man credits fiancée Olivia as a major factor in his journey to the top of the sport.
Francis added: “She sacrifices a hell of a lot for me to do what I do.
“She has to miss events and holidays, all this sort of stuff, so I can train. This really is for her.
“She cooks my food, my dinner, my lunch, she handles my finances, all the little tiny things that are daily stresses.
“She takes the pressure off me so I can focus on what I do. She is literally my rock.”
Francis finished second in the loading race, but could only return joint-sixth in the 90kg dumbbell press in what was his second-worst event of the competition.
He bounced back by sharing the victory in round three, the axle deadlift, grinding out six reps.
Seventh place in the wrecking ball hold signalled Francis’ lowest performance of the event but his performances set the stage for a thrilling victory in the Atlas stones to confirm a scintillating comeback win.
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