Eddie Hall has explained why he believes winning the World’s Strongest Man title is a distinction that stays with you forever, regardless of whether you’re still competing.
The 2017 World’s Strongest Man appeared on Alhan FM’s YouTube show, where the pair discussed Hall’s career, his retirement from elite strongman, and what it actually means to hold one of sport’s most prestigious titles.
Although Hall stepped away from professional Strongman immediately after winning the competition, he insists the title itself is permanent.
When asked whether he is still the strongest man in the world today, Hall explained why he still proudly carries the title.
“I won the title back in 2017, but once you’ve won the World’s Strongest Man, you are always the World’s Strongest Man. It’s a bit like when you win the heavyweight title of the world in boxing. You’re always the heavyweight champion. You never really lose that title,” he said.
Hall won the competition in 2017 at the age of 29 before making the surprising decision to retire the very next day.
When host Alhan Gençay pointed out that Hall had dominated British strongman before conquering the world stage, Hall reflected on the journey that led to the biggest achievement of his career.
“I was UK’s Strongest Man six years in a row. Then I went on to Worlds and won Worlds,” he said.
His rise to the top of the sport wasn’t something Hall believes happened by chance.
He explained that his athletic ability was obvious from an early age, long before he ever touched a barbell.
“I was quite blessed in sport in general. Even at sports days I’d always be one of the top one or two kids. Running, races, strength – I’d always be at the top,” he said.
Before becoming a household name in strength sport, Hall was actually one of Britain’s brightest young swimming prospects.
His mother worked as a swimming teacher, while his older brothers also competed, leading him into the sport at a young age.
“I ended up going to national championships at age 10 and I won every single front crawl race you could do. At 11, 12 and 13 I did the same, won everything, set British records and I was on what they called the World Class Potential Squad. It’s basically the junior Olympic team,” he said.
Those achievements convinced Hall that he possessed the natural ability to excel whenever he fully committed himself to something.
“That’s where I knew I had a talent. Wherever I put my heart and soul into something, I just had the genetics to excel at that,” he said.
Years later, that talent would take him from the swimming pool to the strongman arena.
After establishing himself as Britain’s best by winning the UK’s Strongest Man title six consecutive times, Hall finally reached the summit of the sport in 2017.
For many athletes, becoming World Champion would have marked the beginning of an extended reign.
Instead, Hall shocked the sport by retiring almost immediately.
“I retired at 29,” he said.
When Gençay asked what he retired from, Hall replied simply: “Being the World’s Strongest Man. I won the World’s Strongest Man and the next day I retired,” he said.
While many fans questioned the decision at the time, Hall has previously spoken about achieving the one goal he had chased throughout his career.
For him, there was nothing bigger left to accomplish in Strongman.
Although he no longer competes professionally, Hall believes winning the title permanently cements your place in the history of the sport.
It’s why, nearly a decade after his victory, he still refers to himself as the World’s Strongest Man.
In Hall’s eyes, once you’ve reached the top of the mountain, nobody can ever take that achievement away.
Featured image credit: Alhan FM / YouTube / Eddie Hall / Instagram
