Gary Taylor(born October 14, 1961) is a former strongman

Strongman

Strongman or Strong Man can mean:* Strongman * Strongman * Strongman * High striker, a physical strength carnival attraction* Strongman , a Marvel Comics character...

 competitor, Olympic Weightlifter, powerlifter and bodybuilder from Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

.

Strength sports

A former weightlifter, powerlifter

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...

, and bodybuilder

Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...

, Taylor competed at 6' (183 cm) and approximately 295 lbs (134 kg) during his strongman career. He competed in weightlifting at the 1984 Summer Olympics

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, taking second in the snatch

Snatch (weightlifting)

The snatch is one of the two olympic weightlifting events .The essence of the event is to lift a barbell from the platform to locked arms overhead in a smooth continuous movement. The barbell is pulled as high as the lifter can manage at which point the barbell is flipped overhead...

 in the 110 kg class.

Gary is best known for winning the 1993 World's Strongest Man

1993 World's Strongest Man

The 1993 World's Strongest Man was the 16th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Gary Taylor from United Kingdom. It was his first title after finishing fifth the previous year. 1991 winner Magnus Ver Magnusson from Iceland was runner up for the second year in a row, and Riku Kiri from...

 contest in Orange, France. He also finished 3rd in 1991, 5th in 1992, and 6th in 1993.

Gary suffered a career ending knee injury during the tire flip event at the 1997 Europe's Strongest Man

Europe's Strongest Man

Europe's Strongest Man is an annual strength athletics competition which began in 1980. The event is held in various locations throughout Europe, and features exclusively European strongman competitors. Mariusz Pudzianowski currently holds the record for most wins with 6 titles...

contest. The injury was so severe that it forced Gary to retire from strongman competition permanently.

Retirement/later years

Taylor, now retired from competition, works for the Control & Restraint team with Aylesbury Young Offenders Institute, a prison for Category A (highest and most considered dangerous), as well as being the Senior Gym Officer.