Omagh’s Lee sets new Irish record

OMAGH’S Lee Kelly added another accolade to his list of achievements in 2025 when he broke the under-80kgs deadlift Irish record.

At the Official Strongman Games Record Breakers event in Derry, the 27-year-old excelled in the log press and the deadlift. Like all competitors in action on the day, he had three opportunities to lift the heaviest weight he could in both events, with the combined total used to work out the winner of each weight division.

Kelly started his campaign with the log press, lifting 100kgs, 105kgs and 110kgs before moving on to the deadlift when he went from 300kgs to 320kgs, which was his previous personal best, to a whopping new Irish record of 341kgs with his final effort of the day.

Unsurprisingly, as well as achieving a new national mark for the deadlift, Kelly won the under-80kgs weight division on the day too and he admits that he was delighted that all his focused training beforehand paid off.

“My training for this competition went great, I focused on heavy deadlifts and front squats and also trained accessory movements such as RDL’s, hyper extensions and good mornings,” he explained.

“My previous max deadlift was 320kgs, so achieving 341kgs was an amazing feeling knowing all my training and hard work paid off.”

Last weekend’s success continues Kelly’s fantastic start to 2025, during which he has already been crowned the under-80kg Official Strongman Ireland’s Strongest Man when he carried a 100kg sandbag for over 100 metres, deadlifted 250kg easily for five reps, and held 110kg in each hand for 50 seconds to win four of the five events on the day.

That victory will lead to more exciting events for Kelly, who is now looking forward to Britain’s Strongest Man on May 24th, followed by the European Championships in August.

“2025 has went great for me so far, winning the under-80kg Ireland’s Strongest Man title and setting an Irish record,” he beamed.

“My next competition is Britain’s Strongest Man where I’ll compete against world-class athletes. I’d like to get in the top five but as long as I perform my best I’ll be happy with any result.”