Backyard strongman celebrates success

A BACKYARD strongman has reached the top ranks of weight-lifting despite spending all his days hunched over a computer.

BY DAY he solves computer conundrums in an office, by night he trains in a homemade gym in his garage.

And weekends often see amateur strongman Jamie Allonby competing against the best competitors across the country.

Dad-of-two Jamie (32) has trained since he was a teenager, moving from bodybuilding to powerlifting and now to strongman contests.

The Sunnyside dad-of-two said that his hearty hobby was a great release from his

I.T. services manager day job at Sheffield Park academy.

He said: “I’m sitting behind a desk for most of the day and then when I get home I’m looking for something completely different to do.

“We’ve got a Wii, but even playing that is sometimes too much like my work. So three or four times a week I train in the garage or in the garden.

“When I’m dragging the huge tyre along on the front lawn and a bus full of people drives past, I get a fair few strange looks.”

Jamie’s latest performance saw him finish fourth in Britain’s Natural Strongest Man at Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire, in the under-105kg weight class.

This involved a truck-pull, picking up a 200kg axle and a “medley” of different overhead lifts in the competition two weeks ago.

Jamie - who weighs 96kg, or about 15st - also flipped a 300kg tyre nine times in 75 seconds and carried a 200kg metal frame for 25 metres in 9.6 seconds.

He travels to events with A&E receptionist wife Rebecca and children Shannon (8) and Ben (3).

He said: “We make a real day out of it when I’m taking part. There’s about an hour between the events and they are held in different parts of the park.

“Everyone’s watched World’s Strongest Man on TV, and it’s amazing how many people stop and watch and ask you about it.

“I took part in England’s Strongest Man in 2009, in the under-90kg weight category. I’ve done a few others, but they have been open to anyone, which meant I was up against heavyweight guys of 22st.

“It’s a really good atmosphere and everyone cheers for everyone else,” he added.

“There’s no egos, you get to know other people who take part and make friends.”