With a gold medal around his neck and his hair dyed orange, the 32-year-old colossus, 1m90 and 180 kilos, was welcomed by several ministers at the airport in the Burkinabe capital and then by his supporters outside, despite the rain.
On September 7, in Birmingham, he broke his own world record in the “Log Lift”, a competition which consists of lifting logs, by lifting 231 kg.
“It’s the fact of surpassing oneself that I love. I knew how to use this pressure, I transformed it into positive energy” he declared, hoping to inspire “the young people who saw that”.
“We are mobilized to convey to him first of all our satisfaction, all the pride of the nation,” affirmed the Minister of Sports, Roland Somda.
Read also: Videos. Burkina Faso: triumphant welcome for Iron Biby, the strongest man in the world
Cheick Ahmed Al-Hassan, his real name, discovered bodybuilding in 2009, at the age of 17, when he had just moved to Canada to join his older brother and finish his high school years.
Four years later, his strength impressed people in the industry, surprised that an amateur could lift such weights. He quickly climbed the ranks to become the world champion of “Log Lift” in 2018.
On September 7, he won his fifth world title in the discipline for which he has held the world record for three years, earning him the unofficial title of world’s strongest man.
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“Today he represents all of Burkina, we are proud. May he continue to honor our country Burkina Faso, may peace always return,” rejoiced one of his supporters, Hamed Nombré.
Burkina Faso is facing deadly jihadist violence across a large part of its territory and is governed by a military junta, in power since a putsch carried out in September 2022 by Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
In November, Iron Biby was decorated by Captain Traoré, a few weeks after having already broken his world record.
By Le360 Africa (with AFP)
09/18/2024 at 07:42
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