Burke is aiming to raise the bar higher

IT says something about local strongman Mark Burke when he’s feeling a little disappointed at setting a new world record!

At an event in Derry last weekend, Burke, competing in the 80kg category, set a new deadlift record of 337.5kg.

Burke had broken the world record two years ago with a lift of 321kg however that had since been claimed by Englishman Tom Manion. But at the weekend the Ballymagorry man reclaimed his record with his staggering lift. Yet, Burke was hoping for more.

“I was confident I could reclaim my record and had my sights set on lifting 350kg,” he said.

“But in the lead up to the event I seemed to be suffering from a touch of food poisoning and that restricted my efforts. Records come and go and while it’s good to again hold the new best I was honestly hoping for better.”

Since first competing in strongman events six years ago, Burke has enjoyed tremendous success. He has won three Irish titles, was top dog in Europe in 2019 and in the same year finished 11th at the World Championships in North Carolina.

In the build-up to the world record attempt the north Tyrone man had to follow an extremely strict diet and training regime so that he peaked at just the right time.

“It was 10 weeks of training twice a day, it was gruelling. As well as the training I was trying to lose weight to qualify in the 80kg category,” he continued.

“I did a 40-minute training session at 5.30am and then did a two and half hour session at night. Sometimes I wasn’t leaving the gym until 11.30 in the evening. The diet had to be very strict as well – there wasn’t one single treat in all that time. It’s very much a mental thing as well as physical.”

The new record holder’s next goal in the 2022 World Championships which are scheduled to be held in Florida in August next year. And this time around the Strabane native means business.

“Three years ago I finished 11th and I’d like to think I have come a long way since then. I went into that competition a bit green but this time it will be a different story.

“Strongman in America is an altogether different level, it’s more or less full-time with big sponsors on board and all the rest.

“You might think you’re the top dog until you get out there.

“That’s the thing in this game records come and go and no one really remembers who holds what or lifted so much. It’s not that big a deal any more whereas being the world strongest man, well that speaks for itself.”