Shane Flowers and Kane Francis reach World's Strongest Man

Shane Flowers and Kane Francis, both hailing from Westham, have qualified for the premier event in the sport.

The lifelong friends will fly to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, USA, in late April as two of 30 athletes in the group stages from Wednesday, May 1.

Both athletes have unfinished business with the competition for different reasons.

READ MORE: Shane Flowers wins English leg of Strongman Champions League 2023

Flowers in 2022 injured his foot in the group stage of the main event and was forced to withdraw.

Francis, meanwhile, received a call-up as reserve in 2023 and travelled to the Myrtle Beach showpiece only to miss out on competing.

And, while Flowers has designs on reaching the 10-man grand final, Francis is simply hoping to produce a good showing in his group.

Speaking to Echosport, Flowers said: “2022 didn’t go to plan and last year was bad timing with the arrival of my little boy.

“I actually qualified back in September when I podiumed in Giants Live at Cardiff, so I’ve known for a longer timeframe than Kane that I’m going to the Worlds.

“I’m glad to see that he’s also done that and it’s pretty crazy that we’re both going out. I hope they don’t put us in the same heat!”

Flowers has been in stunning form on the Giants Live circuit, racking up a string of podiums and topping it off with fourth place at Britain’s Strongest Man.

He will be the highest-ranked Englishman in the competition, having also set an astonishing world record of 13.65 seconds in the bag toss during Britain’s Strongest Man in February.

To set the mark, Flowers breezed through the event in which competitors hurl backwards over a 4.5-metre bar six sandbags increasing in weight from 18kg to 28kg.

And armed with two more years of experience, Flowers is looking to make his mark on the world stage.

“In 2022 I was still so new to the sport, so it was sort of like imposter syndrome,” he said.

“I’ve had a couple of years now to get my act together and right some wrongs. I’m a much better athlete this time round.

“I have strong ambitions this year to make the final, which would be crazy, but I reckon I’m more than capable of achieving it.”

While Flowers qualified in September, Francis had to bank on an impressive performance of fifth in Britain’s Strongest Man to book his place in South Carolina.

Kane Francis powered his way to fifth at Britain's Strongest Man 2024 (Image: GIANTS LIVE/DN4 PHOTOGRAPHY)

Francis, a regular success story on the formidable Strongman Champions League circuit, will make his debut in the Worlds.

READ MORE: Kane Francis on 2023 World's Strongest Man reserve list

And he revealed where he was when he received the good news.

He told Echosport: “Me and the missus were laying in bed, I’ve seen the e-mail and I’ve shouted: ‘No way!’ and the cat’s gone legging it out of the room! I couldn’t believe it.

“I saw it and I thought: ‘I don’t want to read it right now, just incase,’ but my fianceé (Olivia) is buzzing, she’s going to come out there with me.

“My mum, dad and brother are all over the moon. It feels great. What happened last year with flying out and not getting a chance to compete lit a fire under me for this year.

“I’ve probably worked harder than I ever would’ve because of that. I suppose everything happens for a reason, and we’re here now.”

The winner of each of the five groups gains automatic qualification to the grand final, with second and third facing the dreaded Atlas stones in a play-off to determine the second qualifier.

Francis added: “The biggest goal for me would just be to make the stone-off. If I came close, I’d be happy.

“You’re talking the top 30 in the world, it’s no joke. If I can make that, it would be brilliant for me.”

Francis this weekend heads to Finland for the latest gruelling Champions League fixture, in which the strongmen will face temperatures plummeting to minus 25 degrees Celsius.