World's Strongest Disabled Man finds 'extra strength'

Matt 'Panda' Smyth says he's feeling 'brilliant' after winning the World's Strongest Disabled Man title

"I've lost my mum, I've lost family, I've lost friends - everything like that builds up over time to give you that extra bit of strength to fight."

Those are the words of the World's Strongest Disabled Man, Matt 'Panda' Smyth.

He has just returned from the competition in Birmingham and says he's "feeling great" after bringing home the title.

Mr Smyth, from Poole, previously won England's Strongest Disabled Man in 2023 and is already looking to defend his title.

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Mr Smyth said there has been "a lot of tears" over the weekend as he pushed himself to win the title.

He explained: "Something like this you can't put it down to one thing, I believe it's mentality over everything else, I mean it's been two years building up.

"The dedication of my coach, who's just been phenomenal giving me all the advice and pushing me harder in training. It's just a combination of everything together."

Mr Smyth took part in a number of events between 1 and 3 November to win the title of World's Strongest Disabled Man.

The events included an axel overhead shoulder press, sled drags which he said he hadn't been beaten in "for years now" and deadlifts where he managed up to six repetitions of 800kg (1,763lb).

He said after the first day of the event, he was "buzzing".

Mr Smyth, who uses a wheelchair, said they had professional grade chairs to support them.

He joked: "We were at the very high end of their [the chair's] capacity, so I'm not convinced they've survived completely.

Mr Smyth said his trainer had now given him "strict orders to eat a lot of takeout and play a lot of X Box" for a week to recover.

But after that, he's planning to get back in the gym, saying he feels "absolutely brilliant".

When asked what's next, Mr Smyth said: "I'm a firm believer if you have no mountains, you create your own.

"I'm having this week off, then I'm going to have a chat with my coach about what mountains to do next year - we're looking at more world records, coming back and defending my title, making it easier than ever."