Jamie Reeves

Background

Reeves was born in 1962 in Sheffield, Yorkshire. He grew up in the city and went to the City School.

Career

Following retirement from competitive sport he continued to be involved in strength athletics as a referee, event promoter and coach. He went on to become a colliery blacksmith"s welder before his success as a strongman led him to give up that profession. In 1987 he improved on his second-place finish by winning the Midland"s Strongest Manitoba (the first of three consecutive wins).

In 1988 he took the title of East Britain"s Strongest Manitoba and entered John Smith"s Trial of Strength, a competition organised by Geoff Capes and David Webster in order to find the successor to the retired Capes.

Underlining his calibre, he then broke Tom Topham"s 274-year-old record by harness lifting three beer barrels weighing a total of 845 kg. This performances culminated in an invitation to the 1988 World"s Strongest Manitoba where he finished third on his first attempt, to Jón Páll Sigmarsson and Bill Kazmaier.

He was injured for the next two competitions and on his return in 1992 came second equal with Magnús Ver Magnússon. Jamie"s best results in IPF or WPC powerlifting competition are:

Squat - 362.5 kilograms (799 lb) (IPF)

Bench press - 272.5 kilograms (601 lb) (done at WPC Push-Pull exhibition meet in 1994 in England)

Deadlift - 367.5 kilograms (810 lb) (IPF)

All lifts performed "raw" (no power suits or bench shirts)

After retiring from strength sports, Jamie became an International Federation of Strength Athletes judge, and ran his own gym.

Achievements

• As a strongman, he won the 1989 World"s Strongest Manitoba, was World Muscle Power champion, and also had numerous other titles including Europe"s Strongest Manitoba and Britain"s Strongest Manitoba At school he had been a swimmer at county level, a centre-forward for his football team and had also played as Number 8 in the rugby union side that won the under-15 Yorkshire Cup. When Reeves saw Bill Kazmaier win his third World"s Strongest Manitoba title in 1982, on British Broadcasting Corporation television, he decided that would be his aim, and took up weights. By 1986 he had become the Yorkshire and North East powerlifting champion in the superheavy class. In addition to powerlifting he had become actively involved in strength athletics and in 1986 won the National Truck Pulling Championships (sponsored by American Statistical Association/Bristol Street Motors) and came second to Peter Tregloan in 1986 in the Midland"s Strongest Manitoba competition. That year he also won the first of three consecutive Yorkshire"s Strongest Manitoba competitions and won the England"s Strongest Manitoba competition also. He won the title, the equivalent that year of Britain"s Strongest Manitoba The following year he won the competition in San Sebastián again excelling in gripping events, seen as his speciality. Domestically, he won the British Muscle Power Championships and Britain"s Strongest Manitoba on numerous occasions and in total was nine times England"s Strongest Manitoba