WALES’ Strongest Man is now the second strongest in the world after finishing as runner-up in the Official Worlds Strongest Man Games in Florida.

Ben Brunning from Bala has held the title of Wales’ Strongest Man for the last three years.

After finishing second at the Giants Live Strongest Man World Tour event in Manchester, ahead of stern competition, the 30-year-old qualified for the world stages in The States.

His efforts also garnered praise from some of the biggest names in the field, including Eddie Hall and Graham Hicks.

Having travelled to Florida to compete in the 2019 Worlds Strongest Man Games between November 1 and 3, Ben once again exceeded expectations.

‘Badger’, as he’s known, had led the pack at one point during the event but ended up finishing in the still more than respectable second place when competitions came to a close on Sunday.

The eventual winner was Luke Richardson, with Jacob Fincher finishing in third behind Ben.

Speaking about his experience Stateside, Ben said: “I’ve got mixed feelings really. Luke (eventual winner) is a hell of a competitor but I was leading the competition for most of it and I messed up the last event which cost me the win.

“However, going to America was great. The people there are so nice and there is so much to do. The travel made me a little tired but clearly not enough to ruin things.”

Ben added: “The highlight of the trip was being able to battle it out to the end with my good friend Luke Richardson, who eventually took the lead.

"I also enjoyed spending the week with my friends and having a great time.”

The latest achievement is the another feather in the cap for Ben who has had quite a busy and successful year during 2019.

Looking back at some of the highlights, he said: "The moments that stand out for me are coming second at the Giants Live World's Strongest Man tour and getting my worlds strongest man spot.

"Also being the 1st man to represent Wales since 1995 in that competition is a great feeling."

In his day job, Ben works at Travis Perkins in Bala. After working 7am to 5pm, he then takes a 40 minute trip to the Big Dogs Strongman Division gym just outside Chirk for some intense training which includes completing sandbag runs to boost his fitness.

As 2019 comes to an end, Wales' Strongest Man is now looking forward to the competitions that next year has in store for him.

"I have Britain's Strongest Man coming up in January," he added.

"I'll be heading to Sheffield for it so will now be training hard for the next few months for that."