STRONGMAN Josh Walton described as “absolutely amazing” his stunning third place in England’s Strongest Man 2024.

Walton, formerly a bodybuilding world champion, made the switch to strongman in January 2023 and has not looked back since.

In only his fourth competition, the Weymouth star claimed bronze in the Official Strongman Games-affiliated 105kg event.

The 30-year-old looked on course for silver before being pipped by Karl Gorman in the final event of five, the sandbag loading.

READ MORE: Josh Walton makes switch from powerlifting to strongman

There was no stopping Tom Owens, though, as the class of the field breezed through the competition with two wins, two seconds and a third.

But achieving third place sailed above all expectations for Weymouth man Walton, who now has his sights set on Britain’s Strongest Man in Edinburgh this June.

Speaking to Echosport, he said: “It’s absolutely amazing. You’ve got to be an all-rounder and it’s fun learning new pieces of equipment, new events and constantly pushing yourself.

“To compete in my fourth strongman competition and to finish on the podium against 29 other competitors, I’m absolutely ecstatic.

“It’s exactly what I think I’ve been put on this Earth to do, because I enjoy it. When you enjoy something, it becomes easy. This is me for a long time now, hopefully.

“I didn’t expect to make the podium. My goal was top eight and top five was where I thought I would’ve been.

“To finish on the podium comfortably, I’m absolutely buzzing.”

Walton opened with a second place in the log press, achieving three reps of the heaviest weight of 140kg in 60 seconds.

He then claimed second in the deadlift, managing eight reps of 310kg and losing out to Owens by a single rep on each occasion.

However, a failure to hurl the largest obstacle in the bag toss slowed his charge somewhat as Walton claimed 10th, while Gorman and Owens nabbed first and second respectively.

Walton bounced back with fifth in the farmer’s walk, recording a distance of 67.3m before only two reps in the 150kg sandbag opened the door for Gorman to steal silver.

Walton is next in action on Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2 at Britain’s Strongest Man where a top-three finish could earn him a shot at the European Championships in York this August.