Gavin’s delighted to be back in competition mode after long lay-off

IT had been around nine months since Strabane’s Gavin McNamee last competed in a strongman event but he showed he has lost none of his ability after returning to action at the Ulster Strongest Man and Novice Ireland’s Strongest Man event in Bangor earlier this month.

The former under-90kg World’s Strongest Man suffered a foot injury when competing at Britain’s Strongest Man last spring and a combination of rehabilitation and event cancellations mean he hasn’t been able to compete since.

“Britain’s Strongest Man was back in April or May when I went over on my ankle and I suffered an indented fracture and ligament damage, which was the sorest part about it,” he explained.

“I had that much planned for [2024] but it ended up with the rest of the year being canceled and you lose all hope after that.

“I had big plans for the year and I was supposed to be back in November but that was canceled and I was supposed to have Ireland’s Strongest Man under-120kg but that was canceled too.

“From November I was primed and ready to go, I was itching to get back and get something going and training was going so good, I was hitting personal bests in a lot of lifts and I wanted to showcase that to see how far I’d come.”

While it took longer than he hoped to make his return to action, McNamee finally got the chance to not only test his foot but to shine in competition once more on February 8th when he qualified for Ireland’s Strongest Man, which will take place in Belfast on May 5th, after finishing second in the Novice event and third in Ulster Strongest Man, both of which were open weight competitions.

“I didn’t look out of place against some big guys!,” he beamed. “There were a few moving events which allowed me to really test my foot because I wasn’t really pushing it in training.

“I was just going through the motions and not going too fast. It was a wee stepping stone and my aim was to qualify for Ireland’s Strongest Man, which I did and it should be a good experience.”